News Center — In 2022, the killing of young Kurdish woman Jina Amini while in the custody of Iran's Guidance Patrol sparked a widespread popular uprising that raised the slogan "Jin Jiyan Azad" and demanded freedom, equality, and an end to violations, quickly turning into an unprecedented protest movement led by women and youth.

In a statement marking the fourth anniversary of the killing of young Kurdish woman Jina Amini, the Kurdistan Teachers' Union considered the popular uprising that erupted after her death as a reflection of the deep and accumulated dissatisfaction of Iranian society, stressing that this uprising cannot be considered a temporary reaction to a specific event.

According to the union, the protests that followed Jina Amini's death brought widespread demands for freedom, equality, human dignity, and the right to self-determination to the forefront of the public sphere, considering the preservation of the victims' dignity a fundamental responsibility. It emphasized the necessity of not reducing the dead, detainees, and wounded to mere numbers or names in official reports.

The union also believes that immortalizing the names and stories of the victims, defending their families' right to seek justice, and opposing the concealment and distortion of truth are an integral part of preserving historical truth and maintaining their human dignity, stressing the necessity of holding accountable those responsible for the treatment of protesters and the consequences of repression.

The statement explained that evaluating the achievements of the uprising should be done from a perspective that goes beyond immediate political and social transformations, noting that the uprising pushed issues of women's rights, public and civil liberties, freedom to choose one's lifestyle, anti-discrimination, and equality among citizens to the forefront of public debate, shedding light on demands that were previously marginalized due to security considerations and moderate discourses.

The union considered the slogan "Jin Jiyan Azad" a concise expression of the connection between women's freedom, the right to a dignified life, and public freedom. In the union's interpretation, the word "Jin" highlights the role and agency of women, the word "Jiyan" emphasizes the right to a safe and dignified life, and the word "Azad" emphasizes liberation from discrimination, coercion, and repression, and the enjoyment of equal rights for all citizens.

The statement stressed the pivotal role of women and youth in shaping and sustaining the movement, explaining that women's resistance to domination over their bodies and lives, along with the younger generation's demands for social freedoms and political future, revealed the widening gap between society and existing structures.

The statement emphasized the importance of strengthening social solidarity, affirming that defending women's rights, nationalities' rights, civil liberties, and social justice are interconnected issues that do not conflict, and that achieving sustainable solidarity requires recognizing linguistic, cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity and accepting pluralism.

The union rejected considering the suppression of protests a solution to society's problems, warning that the security campaign will deepen the gap between society and official institutions, amid the killing of protesters, the arrest of activists, the filing of lawsuits against them, pressure on their families, and restrictions on freedom of expression and the media.

At the end of the statement, the call for civil organizing, comprehensive dialogue, protecting freedom of expression and organization, and supporting the families of victims stood out as the most prominent lessons learned from the uprising, affirming that the slogan "Jin Jiyan Azad" represents a horizon for a future based on human dignity, freedom, equality, and acceptance of diversity.