The Patriot Post® · Feminists for Iran

Just when it seems like the anti-Trump reflex couldn’t stretch any further, it does.

Since the latest conflict with Iran began, a wave of emotional messages from left-leaning women has flooded social media. Instead of directing that energy toward opposing a regime with a long, well-documented history of human rights abuses, many have taken the opposite approach — defending the very kind of system they claim to stand against. TikTok videos and posts are once again filled with people distancing themselves from U.S. leadership, making it clear they oppose anything tied to the current administration — even when doing so puts them on the side of an ideology known for oppressing and brutalizing women.

Now we’re seeing apologies from leftist women directed at Iran and attempts to signal solidarity with the regime itself — all while they try to maintain the label of feminist and self-appointed champion of women’s rights. It’s a contradiction that’s impossible to ignore, and it’s leaving Iranian women wondering where the feminists are when it comes to standing up for them, the ones who need it most.

Are they simply uninformed about what they’re defending? And would they change their minds if they knew the truth?

The global monitor of human rights and civil liberties cites Freedom House, outlining some of the harsh realities for women under its now 47-year-old leadership. “Women do not receive equal treatment under the law and face widespread discrimination,” it reads. “A woman’s testimony in court is given half the weight of a man’s. … Women are banned from certain public places and can generally obtain a passport to travel abroad only with the permission of their fathers or husbands.”

The horrifying and well-known story of Mahsa Amini sent shockwaves through the country in 2024, after the young woman died in police custody — reportedly beaten for violating the regime’s strict rules on wearing a headscarf, despite officials denying responsibility. Her death ignited protests on a scale not seen since the regime first took power, with countless others facing arrest, and many even executed, simply for standing in solidarity with her.

There are countless stories like Amini’s that have been documented and shared worldwide, despite the regime’s efforts to present a far more polished image to the outside world. And yet, many Western women are still choosing to side with those in power, rather than with the women who have spent years risking everything to speak out and fight for their freedom.

What makes it even more baffling is that many of the same women now expressing support for the Iranian government are often the loudest voices calling out “oppression” and claiming victimhood over nearly every perceived injustice at home. The contrast is hard to miss — raising alarm bells over comparatively minor grievances in their own country while overlooking, or even excusing, far more severe and well-documented abuses elsewhere.

Los Angeles physician Sheila Nazarian asks, “So, where are all the Western feminists who have so much to say about microaggressions, transgender athletes, and the ‘male gaze’ as a form of harassment? Many are bizarrely absent, and some have even explained why. Often, it’s in a quiet, embarrassed tone.”

It’s a good question. Where are they?

They’re posting messages online telling Iran they oppose President Donald Trump, too, and expressing regret over the actions taken by the U.S. military.

In a post on X, one unhinged leftist appeals to the Iranian leadership, saying, “This message is for Iran: This American did not vote for Trump, I do not support this useless war, I do not support the destruction on your country. I am livid, and I am devastated. I have cried almost daily.”

Another shares her “unpopular opinion” in that she believes Iran is “standing up for humanity,” saying that they are doing what no other country is willing to do. In one sense, she’s right. Yet what they do can hardly be considered humane.

In a particularly striking interview between Liberty Hangout commentator Kaitlin Bennett and a college student, Bennett asks the young woman, “Who is a bigger threat to America today — radical Islamists, or Trump supporters and MAGA?” Without hesitation, the student responds, “Trump supporters and MAGA,” going on to argue that the right-wing faction of the country is driven by hate and ignorance. The disconnect from reality is shocking, and it becomes even more disturbing when you compare the sympathetic tone coming from Western activists toward one of the most brutal regimes in modern history with the lived reality of women in Iran.

The contrast between the freedoms American women enjoy and the conditions women face in Iran couldn’t be starker. While women in the West speak freely, organize publicly, and advocate for change without fear of imprisonment or death, Iranian women face strict legal and social limitations enforced by the state. Basic freedoms — how they dress, where they go, what they say — are tightly controlled, and stepping outside those boundaries can carry severe consequences, including imprisonment, severe abuse and torture, and execution. These are not minor cultural differences; they are fundamental human rights issues.

Which is why the current wave of sympathy is blatantly contradictory. You cannot claim to champion women’s rights while openly defending, excusing, or aligning with a regime that systematically oppresses women and views them as less than human. Those positions collide directly, and the impact is massive. And when they do, it raises a fair question: if your advocacy overlooks the suffering of the very women you claim to stand for, what exactly is that advocacy built on?

This conflict has been building for decades, shaped by ideology, proxy warfare, and a regime openly wishing death on the West. Ignoring the important details might make a position easier to push in the moment, but it exposes just how shallow it is — driven by headlines, not reality, and built on whatever facts need to be left out to make it work.

That’s part of what makes the current wave of commentary so frustrating. There’s a tendency to frame everything through a domestic political lens, as if foreign adversaries are tracking U.S. voting patterns and adjusting accordingly. They’re not. The Iranian regime isn’t pausing to sort Americans into red and blue before deciding how to act. The Islamic Republic’s hostility toward the United States is ideological and longstanding — it is not, and never has been, contingent on which party holds power.

None of this means every single action taken by the U.S. is automatically justified, or that people shouldn’t question military decisions. Skepticism is healthy. But it has to be grounded in reality, not filtered through partisan reflexes or social media trends. The situation with Iran is complicated, layered, and deeply rooted in history. Reducing it to “this president’s fault” or turning it into a platform for performative outrage doesn’t clarify anything — it just adds noise.

At the end of the day, the loudest voices online aren’t always the most informed, and they’re definitely not the ones living under the consequences of those regimes. If there’s any perspective worth centering, it’s that of the people who actually experience it firsthand. And when you listen to them, one thing becomes clear: this isn’t a story about misunderstood leadership or noble resistance. It’s about a system that has spent decades malevolently maintaining control at the expense of its own people, and a global conversation that too often forgets to take that seriously.