The clergy, patriarchy and the uprising in Iran

What is it about the structure of the theocracy that can make murder a woman’s last resort in a violent marriage? In ‘An Eye for an Eye’, we follow Tahereh, who is trapped in a system where religious law, patriarchal norms and state institutions intertwine and determine her fate. The film paints an intimate portrait of a legal system where mercy, guilt and punishment are not just legal issues, but deeply political ones.

Based on the documentary, CPH:DOX invites you to a conversation about women’s real opportunities for action in Iranian society right now – at a historic turning point. What does it mean to seek justice in a system that simultaneously restricts one’s freedom? And how will the balance of power change after the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?

In the wake of the murder of the young Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini, a nationwide movement grew under the slogan Woman, Life, Freedom (originally in Kurdish: Jin, Jîyan, Azadî). The protests in 2022 opened a new chapter in Iran’s recent history, but where does the movement stand today?

As the power struggles have moved onto the global stage, new questions arise: Has the power struggle created rifts in the population or in the power structure itself? And what does this time of upheaval mean for those who are once again taking to the streets in 2026?

At a time when new, violent images and footage are pouring out of Iran, the question arises with renewed force: What are Iranians and Kurds fighting for now? What hope drives them and what risks does this entail in a period marked by uncertainty and political upheaval?

These questions are explored by journalist and senior advisor at Amnesty International, Paula Larrain, in conversation with Rasmus Elling, PhD in Iranian Studies, and activists Jino Doabi and Maria Kafaei Zandeh Del. Together, they discuss resistance, division, hope and the possibilities for change in an Iran in the midst of a decisive period of upheaval.