Malala voices support for Iranian women as protests continue

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has voiced support for Iranian women and girls as protests against Iran’s regime entered their third week.

The demonstrations began amid growing anger over economic hardship and the sharp fall of the Iranian rial. Malala said that the unrest is closely linked to long-standing government limits placed on women and girls, particularly restrictions affecting their freedom and access to education and public life.

She said that girls in Iran are calling for a life of dignity and respect. 

Tweet by Malala Yousafzai

"The protests in Iran cannot be separated from the long-standing, state-imposed restrictions on girls’ and women’s autonomy, in all aspects of public life including education. Iranian girls, like girls everywhere, demand a life with dignity," she wrote in a post on X.

"The people of Iran have long warned about this repression, at great personal risk, and their voices have been silenced for decades. These restrictions exist within a wider system of gendered control shaped by segregation, surveillance, and punishment — one that limits freedom, choice, and safety far beyond the classroom."

She stressed that any future change must be led by Iranian women and girls themselves, not by outside powers or authoritarian systems.

Malala said that she stands with the people of Iran, especially women and girls, as they seek freedom, dignity, and the right to decide their own path forward. "I stand with the people and girls of Iran in their call for freedom and dignity. They deserve to determine their own future," she added.