The European Parliament resolution “condemns in the strongest terms the ongoing repression of women for objecting to compulsory veiling and for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly; calls on the Iranian Government to respect the freedom of Iranian women to choose their own dress code.”The resolution calls on the Iranian authorities to unconditionally release all arbitrarily jailed women’s rights defenders protesting against the hijab being compulsory, as well as all other human rights defenders, imprisoned and sentenced for simply exercising their right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
The European Parliament resolution also demanded that all EU-Iranian dual nationals, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe be immediately released.
The EP resolution also praised and supported the Iranian women human rights defenders who continue to stand up for their causes, despite the difficulties and personal repercussions they are facing.
In her remarks to the session, MEP Anna Fotyga from Poland said she commended the women of Iran for their bravery, determination and will, not only for their struggle for women’s rights, but for their protests against the regime. She said the main Iranian opposition movement, the National Council of Resistance of Iran was led by a woman.
In other articles of the resolution, the European Parliament urged “the Iranian authorities to revise the legal provisions which discriminate against women” and called on them “to ensure that women are allowed access to all stadiums, without discrimination or risk of persecution.”
It further urged the Iranian authorities “to ensure the unreserved and full implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which Iran is a signatory; urges Iran to adhere to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.”
The EP resolution strongly condemned “the use of the death penalty, including its use against juvenile offenders; calls on the Iranian authorities to introduce an immediate moratorium as a fundamental step towards its abolition,” calling on Iran “to cooperate with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, including by allowing him to enter the country.”
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The Judiciary changed the bill’s name to “Protection, Dignity and Provision of Security for Women Against Violence.” According to Esmai’li, the Judiciary formed joint working groups by the government, the Judiciary, the parliamentary Center for Research, and special working groups in the Judiciary’s legal directorate to examine the bill.
The regime’s Judiciary removed at least 41 articles of the original bill ostensibly because they overlapped with the Sharia law or Islamic Punishment Code and the Criminal Procedures Regulations, or because they contradicted the regime’s policy of de-imprisonment. The present bill has been re-written in five chapters and 77 articles. (The official IRNA news agency – September 17, 2019)
Explaining one of the reasons for rejection of the PSW bill, the Judiciary’s spokesman at the time and deputy Minister of Justice, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Eje’ii, said, “One of the problems is that our general policy is de-imprisonment. In the PSW bill, however, imprisonment has been predicted as a punishment for every minor violation in this regard. And in doing so, it jeopardizes the foundations of families.” (The official IRNA news agency – February 17, 2019)
Earlier, Majlis deputy Tayyebeh Siavoshi said about this bill, “Many women who are subjected to violence do not file complaints for different reasons. Nevertheless, they lose their living skills due to the violence inflicted on them, to the extent that sometimes they lose their sanity and commit suicide… Women and mothers who are subjected to violence or are constantly brutalized cannot manage their families, properly.” (The state-run donya-e-eqtesad.com – July 17, 2018)
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Baha’i students have been banned from higher education due to their faith.The Evaluation Organization claims to have detected deficiencies in the records of Baha’i students to ban them from continuing their education, an excuse used since 2006 to deprive Baha’i students from college education. The names of 16 female Baha’i students have been so far announced. These female Baha’i students have passed the university admission test, some with distinguished grades, but they cannot register in Iranian universities to study in majors of their choice. The 16 female Baha’i students are: Tara Ehsan, Mahsa Forouhari, Shileen Aghili, and Rojin Kassiri from Karaj; Shamim Ildekhani from Ardabil; Mahtab Khadem from Tehran; Armaghan Enayati from Semnan; Negar Ighani and Tarannom Kamali from Shiraz; Rojan Ehsani from Kashan; Ghazal Allahverdi Gorji from Sari; Dorsa Mostafavi from Tehran; Nouriyeh Ferdowsian from Isfahan; Negin Foroughi; Sholeh Movaffaghi from Sari, a Math and Physics major; and Aylar Roshan Nahar who passed the exam ranking 107.
A large number of Baha’i students, including female students, were also deprived last year from continuing their education because of their faith, despite passing the test and some with top ranks. The NCRI Women’s Committee compiled and announced the names of more than 50 young Baha’i women.
According to the information compiled by the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, at least 23 Baha’i women were deprived of pursuing higher studies in 2017. The actual numbers are much higher.
