Letter to the UN Commission on the Status of Women
To the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW)
Dear Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (Executive Director of UN Women)
Re: Membership of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the UNCSW
April 28, 2021
Iranian women continue to face violence and systematic discriminatory laws affecting their private lives as well as public presence. Over the past four decades, suppression of women has been the cornerstone of the Islamic Republic of Iran, leaving women stripped off of their fundamental rights including in relation to marriage, divorce, employment, and inheritance, just to name a few. In the Islamic Republic of Iran Women are categorically considered to have a worth half of that of a man. Despite the oppressive social climate and numerous obstacles, Iranian women have been battling all along on every front to open their path forward. The number of women being arrested simply because of demanding equal rights is increasing daily; most being students, journalists, lawyers, and civil activists. Women activists have faced heavy sentences (24 years-imprisonment just recently) for refusing to obey the compulsory hijab in public.
The misogynistic nature of the Islamic Republic of Iran is no secret to the world. While Amnesty International has warned the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding its dire condition of women’s right, the authorities failed to take basic steps to make any amends. European lawmakers have repeatedly demanded sanctions on Iran for violation of human rights and reminded the world that “Iran is a country where women are imprisoned just for being women”.
The recent election of Iran to the UN commission on the status of women has shocked the world and women activists in particular. The Islamic Republic of Iran’s membership of this commission with such horrifying records of mistreatment of women is not just appalling but also undermines the whole notion and purpose of an impartial institution such as the UN.
The Union for Secular Republic and Human Rights in Iran (USRHR) strongly condemns this baseless decision and demands the UN to stay committed to its core mission and to revoke UNCSW membership of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We also urge the international community to unite and pledge the UN for appropriate action in recognising the violations of the most basic Human Rights in general and most specifically that of women.
