Iranian women have surfaced as an interesting part of the ongoing protests taking place across the country. Iran has been facing massive protests on a daily basis from thousands of people across the country.
The unrest started around December 28, 2025, when multiple cities all over Iran started to protest against the Islamic Republic government and the economic crisis.
In the midst of all this public unrest, Iranian women have captured global attention, offering a stark reminder of the courage required to challenge authoritarian rule.
These women are using powerful and unconventional acts of defiance to confront a system built on control and fear. The photos of women lighting their cigarettes from a burning photo of Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, have gone viral all over the world.
What Is Happening In Iran?
Iran is currently facing widespread protests that have erupted across major cities, driven by a combination of economic collapse, political repression, and public anger at the country’s ruling elite. Years of international sanctions, inflation, unemployment, and currency devaluation have pushed ordinary Iranians to the brink.
At the same time, frustration with the clerical leadership has intensified, particularly among young people and women who feel shut out of decision-making and personal freedoms.
The latest unrest began as demonstrations over soaring prices and shortages but quickly escalated into broader anti-government protests.
The reason these protests have taken over almost 180 cities in Iran is due to the participation of the shopkeepers and merchants who expressed their frustration with the rising dollar rate and market instability. Soon, though, the anger spread to the general public, who called out rising living costs and unstable economic conditions.
Dina Esfandiary, Middle East lead for Bloomberg Economics based in Geneva, speaking with CNN, commented on this, saying, “It’s reached a boiling point. I anticipate that the Islamic Republic that we’re seeing today is one unlikely to see 2027. I really think there is going to be some change.”
The Iranian government has been trying to label those demanding regime change, as can be seen with slogans such as “Death to the Dictator” and “Seyyed Ali [Khamenei] will be toppled this year” being used, as “rioters” or claiming that they are foreign-backed “mercenaries,” promising strict action against them.
Further, the measures taken by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, led by its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been severely called into question by various human rights organisations.
According to a Norway-based rights group, so far, at least 648 protesters have been killed in the last 16 days of protests.
The US-based Human Rights Activists New Agency (HRANA) believes the number is around 500 protesters, including nine children having been killed, along with 10,700 individuals being arrested, as per a CNN report.
Read More: Who Is Ahoo Daryaei, Why Did She Strip To Her Underwear In A Country Like Iran?
What Are Iranian Women Doing?
In all this, Iranian women have not been sitting idle, but making bold and powerful moves to show their anger against the clerical system that has been in place since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. One of the most striking images to emerge shows women lighting cigarettes using burning photographs of Ayatollah Khamenei.
The act is simple yet radical: a symbolic rejection of the man who embodies the state’s control over their bodies, choices, and lives.
In the now viral video, a young woman with her hair uncovered, lights a photo of Khamenei on fire and then uses that to light up her cigarette.
An Iranian girl burns a picture of Ayatollah Khamenei and lights her cigarette, a new trend in Iran!
Young Iranian women are leading the revolution against the Islamic regime.
— Dr. Maalouf (@realMaalouf) January 10, 2026
This is extremely powerful, since not only is it seemingly ‘disrespecting’ the Supreme Leader of the country, but it shows a woman smoking in public, something that is heavily discouraged and restricted under social and religious rules enforced on women most of the time. This eventually led to a trend starting, where other women of Iran did the same thing to support the protest causes.
This is not all, though, as according to reports, another video from Tehran went viral showing a woman chanting anti-government slogans with a red mouth, which is supposed to represent blood.
She can be heard saying, “I am not afraid. I have been dead for 47 years.”
Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad shared the video on X/Twitter and wrote, “I’m not afraid. I’ve been dead for 47 years. This is the voice of a woman in Iran who is fed up with the Islamic Republic. 47 years ago, the Islamic Republic took our rights and turned a nation into hostages. Today, people have nothing left to lose; they rise. Iran is rising.”
I’m not afraid. I’ve been dead for 47 years this is the voice of a woman in Iran who is fed up with the Islamic republic.
47 years ago, the Islamic Republic took our rights and turned a nation into hostages.
Today people have nothing left to lose, they rise.
Iran is rising. pic.twitter.com/GAawmynE0C— Masih Alinejad ️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 8, 2026
The concerns of Iranian women, though, are going global as well, with activists from Europe and other regions also joining hands to call out Khamenei and his atrocities.
Dear @khamenei_ir,
Fuck your terrorist ass.
Sincerely, pic.twitter.com/rrJhmXCS6E
— Camille Eros (@camille_eros) January 11, 2026
This video was taken during a protest march in Paris on January 11, 2026, where hundreds of people gathered to show their solidarity.
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On the same day, similar protests were carried out across Berlin, London and Istanbul to support the anti-government protests taking place across Iran.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: CNN, Reuters, Hindustan Times
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Iran, Iran women, Iran women protest, Iran dictatorship, Iran rule, Iran protest, Iran, Islamic regime, Islamic regime iran, Iranian women, iran women news, iran women cigarette, iran news, iran khamenei, ali khamenei
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