International Women’s Day; Women and Bereaved Mothers in Iran Lead the Fight Against Human Rights Violations

Tuesday, March 9, 2022 — On the eve of International Women’s Day, the Human Rights Campaign in Iran celebrates all women who, despite hardships and suffering, are at the forefront of the struggle against discrimination and inequality and efforts for human rights, and honors their continued pursuit of this perilous path.

In Iran, courageous and pioneering women—from lawyers and civil activists to journalists and bereaved mothers—despite systematic violations of human rights and continuous state discrimination, remain steadfast in demanding justice, equality, and basic civil freedoms for all Iranian citizens.

The struggle for women to enjoy fundamental rights in Iran has continuously faced numerous dangers and challenges, and women’s freedoms become increasingly restricted with each passing day:

— Peaceful advocacy for women’s rights has been criminalized, and many women have been convicted and imprisoned for their activism in this regard.

— Women in Iran face systematic and legalized violence:

• Inadequate state support against domestic violence
• Continued marriage of girls under 13 years old
• Women’s lack of equal legal and financial rights in family matters, which consequently exposes them to blatant discrimination in the workplace and political and public spheres.
• Women political prisoners live in inhumane and harsh conditions, and authorities attempt to silence their voices through various forms of harassment and torture; denial of access to healthcare and medical facilities, prevention of prisoners’ telephone contact with their children or prohibition of visits, and exile of women political prisoners to prisons far from their families’ residences and prolonged solitary confinement have become standard procedures in dealing with women political prisoners.

The courage, resistance, and continued struggle of Iranian women is also evident among mothers who have lost their children due to government crackdowns. The mothers of Laleh Park and Khavaran mothers, alongside November mothers, despite continuous harassment, intimidation, and persecution by security and government institutions, play an unparalleled and crucial role in leading and giving identity to the justice-seeking movement in Iran.

Nahid Shirpisheh, whose son Pouya Bakhtiari was killed by government forces’ bullets during the November 2019 public protests, previously told the Human Rights Campaign in Iran: “My motivation to stay alive is so that my son’s killers are identified and then the person who ordered this horrific killing of Pouya and others faces justice for their actions.”

The Islamic Republic of Iran government, in addition to continuously perpetrating discrimination and inequality against women, has severely reduced the provision of social services and healthcare for disadvantaged and needy women. For example, in March 2022, the founders of “Khaneye Khorshid” (House of the Sun), a non-governmental organization working to reduce drug abuse harm among women in Iran, announced that they have been forced to suspend the operations of this safe private house due to “pressures and coercion.” Meanwhile, the government has reduced access to pregnancy-related care in state clinics.

The Human Rights Campaign in Iran sends its regards to all brave and courageous women in Iran who struggle for the realization of justice, equal rights, and freedom for all Iranians, and calls on the international community to declare their comprehensive support for these women.

Source: Iran Human Rights Campaign