Marking the fourth anniversary of the state killing of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini and the beginning of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in 2022, a general strike took place across a wide number of cities in Kurdistan on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
The coalition of six Iranian Kurdish parties had earlier issued a call urging citizens and shopkeepers to take part in a general strike on this day, a call that drew support from a number of organizations, civil and human rights institutions, and various groups.
Hana’s investigations show that this year’s strike took place against a backdrop of markedly intensified pressure by security institutions and the Amaken Bureau on business owners in the days leading up to September 16. A number of shopkeepers, Hana has learned, faced threats of having their premises sealed, the revocation or restriction of their business licenses, fines, and, in some cases, threats of arrest.
Despite this pressure, the tradition of the general strike, which over the past several years has become one of the recognized forms of civil protest in Kurdistan, held once again, with a considerable number of shopkeepers across various cities closing their shops and businesses.
From the earliest hours of Wednesday, Hana tracked the progress of the strike through local sources, field observations, and the images and video it received, publishing updates on conditions in various cities on an ongoing basis. Some of the images and information Hana released were subsequently picked up and used by media outlets and news agencies.
The data gathered and images verified by Hana show the strike extending across a significant share of the cities of Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan Provinces, as well as a number of cities in Kermanshah Province.
Hana has documented and confirmed participation in the strike in the cities of Sanandaj, Saqqez, Divandareh, Kamyaran, Qorveh, Bijar, Kermanshah, Kerend, Mahabad, Bukan, Miandoab, Marivan, Baneh, Oshnavieh, Piranshahr, Ravansar, and Paveh.
In certain cities, including Sanandaj, Saqqez, and Divandareh, the scale of business closures was extensive, according to field observations and information gathered from local sources. Hana estimates shopkeeper participation in these cities at roughly 70 to 80 percent, based on the information and images available to it. These figures are estimates, offered on the basis of the data available to Hana at the time this report was prepared.
Alongside the strike, Hana’s sources reported an increased presence of security forces and riot units in a number of cities. The deployment of military vehicles fitted with heavy machine guns was reported in Sanandaj and Marivan, and in some cases documented through images received. Throughout the day, reports were also received of security forces pressuring certain shopkeepers to reopen their businesses, along with a noticeable slowdown in internet service.
What this September 16 strike once again demonstrated was the endurance of the strike as a collective, civil form of protest in Kurdistan, despite a range of preventive and security pressures brought to bear on shopkeepers and citizens. The geographic breadth of the strike and the participation of so many cities show that, four years after the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement began, this method of protest continues to hold ground in parts of Kurdistan.
Hana continues to review images, field reports, and information concerning the security response during this strike, and will publish further documented findings as they become available.