A major International Women’s Day project that brought together the voices of women from across the Middle East was published on Sunday.
Carried out by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), the project includes filmed interviews with women from within the Middle East and diaspora communities, reflecting on the status of women in the region in 2026.
Interviews were filmed in Arabic and English, and were prepared ahead of their release on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2026. The project was conducted in cooperation with a Druze official in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Jerusalem Post interviewed Sogand Fakheri, the JCFA’s Iran analyst, who led the project, to discuss its significance now.
As the Israeli-US offensive against Iran continues, and with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei having been killed within the first few hours of the war, it seems like the fall of the IRGC could be closer than ever.
Why publish this project now?
The Post asked Fakheri about the impacts that Operation Rising Lion could have on women’s rights in Iran, and she explained that “it’s a great step, because [the Ayatollah] was someone who symbolised so many bad things and so many traumatic events for Iranians, but the truth is that it’s just a tiny, tiny step - it’s not that he got killed and that’s it, Iran is free.”
“I see a bright future for the women in Iran, and I can't wait to dance with them in the streets soon.”
This project is different from those that came before it in the variety of voices it uplifts. Fakheri said, “It gives you this amazing range of colors, of how everything can look, [because we] have so many people from so many backgrounds who all talk about the same things.”
She spoke about particular voices within the project that stand out to her, including Marzia Amirzadeh, a human rights activist who fled Iran. “She was in Evin prison for fighting for freedom of religion, and she really speaks about how they suppress women under the Ayatollah’s regime.”
Fakheri also highlighted Dalia Ziada, an Egyptian researcher and human rights activist who had to flee Egypt because she supported Israel after October 7. She explained that Ziada is “a really brave voice of women in the Arab world who really demands change to how society perceives gender.”
A message to women across the Middle East
“In the Middle East, for decades, women have been fighting for their rights against extremist and regressive political ideologies, movements, governments, and terrorist groups,” explained Fakheri.
“If there's one thing that a woman knows is that there are consequences to every action and bad ideas and bad actions lead to terrible consequences for women often based on decisions that we never took part in.”
The project’s message is clear - “listen to women and always have an eye on practical policies and cooperation based on common interests of peace, be creative and open-minded in your solutions, and realistic in your expectations.”