Rights organizations urge Iran to release imprisoned women and protect women’s rights News
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Rights organizations urge Iran to release imprisoned women and protect women’s rights

A coalition of women and human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Front Line Defenders, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network and the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition, urged Iranian authorities on Tuesday to release imprisoned women human rights defenders and to protect women’s rights in Iran.

The organizations called on Iranian authorities to abolish the death penalty, particularly against women activists, and cease systematic discrimination against women. The organizations also urged the international community to demand Iranian authorities to ensure the health and safety of detained women human rights defenders and feminist organizations to advocate for “Iranian women’s rights and their demands for bodily autonomy through protests, peaceful gatherings, statements and advocacy efforts.”

Tuesday was the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Jina Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in custody after she was detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the country’s hijab laws. Her death on September 16, 2022, triggered the widespread “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests.

Despite a mass release of protesters earlier this year under a general amnesty, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Iran reported on Friday that the repression of women activists continues unabated. The FFM’s report highlighted an intensifying crackdown on women and girls, especially those involved in the ongoing struggle for gender equality. The mission underscored the systematic nature of these violations, linking them to state policies aimed at silencing dissent, particularly in ethnic minority regions.

The FFM documents the use of arbitrary arrests, physical violence and judicial harassment as tools of repression. At least 25 women human rights defenders remain incarcerated, with many others facing imminent imprisonment following recent trials. These women, viewed by the Iranian government as key figures in the protests, have led efforts from within prison walls to keep the movement alive.

The FFM calls on Iranian authorities to halt the executions of protesters and implement genuine reforms, including the repeal of mandatory hijab laws.

In December 2022, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) removed Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) due to its ongoing crackdown on peaceful protesters and discriminatory policies against women and girls.

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