The Kurdistan Women's Union (KJK) strongly condemned the death sentence against Warisha Moradi and called on Iran's judiciary to reverse the decision. In a statement published on Monday, the umbrella organization of the Kurdish women's movement described the verdict against Moradi as an "expression of the fear of a misogynistic regime" that is trying to break the women's struggle against patriarchy with executions.

The statement added: "The Iranian judiciary has once again applied its human rights-violating practice of passing death sentences after unfair trials. We abhor an inhumane death policy that robs peoples of the opportunity to live together in democracy and peace."

Sentenced for being a member of KJAR

On Sunday it was announced that the Kurdish activist Warisha Moradi was sentenced to death by a revolutionary court in Tehran for "armed rebellion against the state". The verdict is related to Moradi's commitment to women's and feminist issues as part of her membership in the Community of Free Women of Eastern Kurdistan (KJAR). Iran's regime judiciary sees the KJAR as a "separatist terrorist organization" because it is part of the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK). The PJAK resists the oppression and discrimination of the Kurdish people and campaigns for women's liberation, autonomy and democracy in Iran.

The KJK statement added: "It is clear that insisting on the reality of war and conflict at a time when the world and especially our region, the Middle East, has turned into a ball of fire, does not benefit the peoples. It is obvious that wars waged for the sake of power have thrown life in our region out of balance. The blind, dull and rigid reality of nation-state thinking is responsible for the oppression to which peoples and women are subjected. Insisting on the reality of the nation-state is insisting on the continuation of all social, political, economic, military, diplomatic and legal crises."

Resistance to the misogynistic policies of the states

The statement added: "At a time when cities are being burned down, countries are being divided and people of all ages are being affected by these massacres, we see that clinging to the practice of torture and death does not bring power. The Iranian state will not get anywhere if it persists in misogyny, illegalities and hostility to democracy. Intimidating women and society in general will not produce results. Women in particular will continue their resistance today as they did yesterday, despite and precisely because of the misogynistic policies of the states. We women have nothing to lose, but a lot to gain. We are clear that there is a free world that we can achieve if our resistance continues to grow. Those who have something to lose are the sovereigns and rulers who cling to their oppressive, misogynistic and anti-human policies. Therefore, if the Iranian state wants to survive in this historic period when the drums of war are beating loudly for it, it must give priority to the implementation of democracy and human rights, which it has not given a chance to live for years. It must be recognized that oppression, execution, torture, abuse of rights and freedoms not only do not strengthen Iran, but are also the cause and consequence of all social problems."

Release all political prisoners

The KJK called on "the Iranian state to immediately revoke the death sentence against Warisha Moradi, to release all political prisoners who are resisting in prisons and to heed the demands of all social and ethnic communities in this country who are demanding their rights. Otherwise, the unstoppable struggle of women will cause great losses to the regime. We send our greetings to the human rights defenders Pakhshan Azizi and Warisha Moradi and all other freedom fighters sentenced to death. We call on the peoples, all democratic forces, fighting women and personalities who care about human rights to take a stand against these executions and the misogynistic policies of the Iranian state and to strengthen the common struggle. We demand that all women's structures, especially the women of Kurdistan, raise their voices with effective and continuous actions and activities for the women who are subjected to severe torture in prisons, who are to be silenced and broken through execution."