FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - On International Women’s Day, Kincaid Condemns Gender Apartheid in Iran
March 8, 2026
On International Women’s Day, Kincaid stands in solidarity with the women and girls of Iran, who continue to live under one of the most systematic and brutal regimes of sex based oppression in the world.
The Iranian government enforces mandatory hijab laws through intimidation, surveillance, arrests, fines, and imprisonment. New legislation has intensified penalties, with women facing severe punishments simply for refusing to comply with state imposed dress codes. Under Iran’s so called “Noor Plan,” authorities have expanded the use of artificial intelligence, facial recognition, and smart camera surveillance to identify women in cars and public spaces, leading to mass vehicle confiscations, heavy fines, and constant monitoring.
This is not only a violation of personal freedom. It is a warning to the world. In the hands of authoritarian regimes, artificial intelligence becomes a tool of total control. It can be used to track people, punish dissent, and crush hope for freedom before it can even take shape. The people of Iran deserve liberty, not a future defined by digital tyranny.
Women in Iran also remain subject to deeply unequal laws that deny them basic independence and dignity. In many cases, women need permission from a male guardian to travel, obtain a passport, and make major decisions about work or study. Girls can be married off as children under laws that allow marriage at shockingly young ages.The legal age of marriage is 13 for girls . However, girls can be married as young as 9 lunar years (approximately 8 years and 9 months) with the consent of a father and the approval of a judge. Men hold a unilateral right to divorce, while women face a long and difficult legal process to prove extreme hardship. In court, a woman’s testimony is treated as worth only half that of a man’s, and inheritance laws award women substantially less than their male relatives.
These injustices are enforced by a system willing to use violence to maintain control. The death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 sparked nationwide protests and exposed to the world the cruelty of Iran’s morality police system. Those protests were met with deadly force, but the courage of Iranian women continues to inspire people everywhere.
Women should not be forced into silence, submission, or fear. They should not be monitored by the state, controlled by male guardians, or denied equality before the law. On this International Women’s Day, we must speak clearly. The oppression of women in Iran is a human rights crisis, and the world must not look away.
From the river to the sea, all women shall be free.
Representative Suzan DelBene voted yes on the House Iran war powers resolution. She voted to stop the air strikes in Iran. She might say she is against the regime in Iran. But she is unwilling to do anything to stop them. From her voting yes to stop the air strikes in Iran . To her voting no to protecting girls sports . She has a history of not standing up for the rights of women.

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