UN calls on Iran to promote women’s rights on second anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death

HRW denounces that the “brutal repression” against women has continued for the last two years

September 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –

UN Secretary-General’s spokesman Stéphane Dujarric on Monday called on Iran to promote women’s rights on a day marking the second anniversary of the death of young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s “morality police” for allegedly wearing her veil incorrectly.

“Our comment remains the same, which is to encourage the Iranian authorities to fully protect and promote women’s rights. Women must be free to express themselves, whether through words or dress, anywhere in the world,” Dujarric said during a press conference.

He added that Secretary-General António Guterres has conveyed this position to the Iranian authorities in his numerous conversations and will continue to do so.

On the other hand, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has denounced that the “brutal repression” against women has continued over the last two years while avoiding “holding accountability” from the perpetrators of human rights violations.

“Authorities have failed to address the killing of hundreds of people and the detention of thousands, and have systematically continued their repression of dissidents, civil society and human rights defenders. So far, a change of government and a new president have done nothing to alter the authorities’ crackdown on dissent,” said Nahid Naghsbandi, HRW’s interim Iran researcher.

She has denounced an intensification of repression against women in public spaces and that a new bill on chastity and the hijab is “on the verge of being approved” in the Iranian Parliament.

“If passed, this law will formalise the repression of women and girls who defy the mandatory wearing of the hijab, significantly widening the gender gap,” she added.

She also criticized the actions of the authorities to “intimidate and silence” women by imposing severe prison sentences on human rights defenders.

Amini’s case sparked unprecedented protests inside Iran and generated widespread condemnation from the international community, leading to her being awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2023.