Open Letter of 25 Iranian Women Organizations to the UN

Source: WIB via email

24 november 2022 om 05:12:56 EST

Open Letter of 25 Iranian Women Organizations to the UN

Open Letter of 25 Iranian Women Organizations in Diaspora to the UN Secretary-General on Gross, Systematic, and Structural Violence and Human Rights Abuses in the Islamic Republic of Iran

November 22, 2022

Dear Mr. Secretary-General

We, the undersigned Iranian independent women groups and organizations in the diaspora, are sending this letter regarding the reports about gross, systematic, and structural violence and human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iranian women have endured violence against women in public and private spheres, at home, and in society perpetuated by state and nonstate actors.

The widespread public unrest, with demonstrations and protests taking place in 144 cities, was triggered by the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was arrested, detained for her “improper hijab”by authorities in Tehran on September 13^th and died, while in custody, three days later.

Although according to HRANA, Human Rights Activists News Agency, as of November 22, 437 Iranian civilians, among those 61 children, have been killed and 18,055 individuals arrested, the protests continue across generations.

Iran has seen multiple eruptions of protests over the past years, many fueled by desperation over economic difficulties. However, the new wave of protests led by women and girls is against something at the heart of the identity of the Islamic Republic of Iran: the compulsory veil.

The compulsory veil is emblematic of the control, censorship, and oppression of the Iranian people. During the last eight weeks, Women and girls burned their scarves and cut their hair in powerful displays of defiance.

For the last 43 years, the body of Iranian women has been the ideological battlefield of patriarchal values, now revolting not only against compulsory hijab but also against misogynistic laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, depriving them of their choice, rights, and dignity.

The current wave of protests, with women and girls at the forefront, is a historical movement rooted in the forty-three years of struggle of Iranian women and a loud declaration of Generation Z and Alpha in Iran for fundamental human rights, freedom, and against authoritarianism. It is one of the region’s most inspiring social and cultural revolutions with forward-looking strategies and the unifying slogan of “woman, life, and freedom” that has brought the solidarity of all Iranians from Balochistan to Kurdistan and from Gilan to Khuzestan demanding accountability and justice.

The fearless Iranian women and girls, the generations born and raised with gender apartheid policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, know that they have to keep moving forward. There is no way back.

We, the undersigned Iranian independent women groups and organizations in the diaspora, support the protests and demonstrations in Iran.

. We call upon UN authorities to hold the Islamic Republic of Iran accountable for the violence perpetrated by state and nonstate ( Basiji ) actors. We call upon UN authorities to hold the Islamic Republic of Iran accountable for the safety and security of Iranian women and girls in public spheres.

• We support the call of sixteen UN-appointed human rights experts who encouraged Iranian authorities to stop “indicting people with charges punishable by death for participating in a peaceful demonstration.”

• We call upon UN authorities to pressure the Islamic Republic of Iran to release all persons detained for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including those arrested solely for participating in peaceful protests or removing the compulsory hijab.

• We call upon UN authorities that on the brink of the Special Session of Human Rights Council on November 24^th and the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25^th hold the Islamic Republic of Iran accountable for the violence perpetuated by the state on women and girls•

. We demand that a team of UN experts, including but not limited to the following UN experts, pay a visit to the prisons in Iran.
Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran;
Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions;
Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression;
Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders;
Clément Nyaletossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association;
Dorothy Estrada Tanck (Chair), Working Group on discrimination against women and girls; and Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues.

Woman, Life Freedom

. Association of Iranian Women in Florence, Italy
· Association of Iranian Women in Montreal
. Maanaav - LGBTQ Community - Sweden
· Dallas Iranian Women Association (DIWA)
. Everyday Feminism
. Women for Sustainable Freedom & Equality
. Orange County Women Study Group
. Women Committee Against Stoning – Paris, France
· Frauen Tribunal - Hannover, Germany
· International Coalition Against Violence in Iran (ICAVI)
· Iranian Circle of Women for International Networking (ICWIN)
· Iranian Women Activist in Exile – Berlin, Germany
· Iranian Women Association of Parto, Germany
· Iranian-German women’s association, Cologne, Germany
· IWIN Iranian Women In Network · Left Unity of Women
· No to hijab Campaign Iran- Women- Solidarity
· Stop Honor Killings Campaign
· The Organization for Emancipation of Women
· Women and Anti-discrimination Committee of The Union for
Secular Republic in Iran
· Women of Iran for Sustainable Equality
· Zanan Group in Northern California . IKWRO-Women Rights Organizations
. Together for Women’s Health Foundation
. Iranische Frauengruppe