Iranian Women Will Not Be Deterred

In the aftermath of Iran’s election, the government has arrested over 5000 protestors. Human rights organizations argue that women have been unfairly targeted, particularly women’s rights activists, female journalists and their families.

The organization Change for Equality highlights a number of egregious reasons for arrests, including running gender equality websites, collecting campaign signatures, or being family members of activists. And still, some have disappeared for no discernable reason.

However this has not kept Iranian women from taking action. About 1200 activists have signed a statement that decries the “Family Protection” bill currently in Iran’s Parliament. Dubbed the “Anti-Family Bill” by its detractors, the bill would give men the right to take on more wives without the consent or knowledge of the current wife. If the current wife is away from the house for more than 6 months or terminally ill, the husband may take on another wife. Currently a man needs his wife’s consent to marry another woman.

The organization Gender Equality for Iran has issued a statement for supporters to sign calling for freedom and gender equality. Asking for people worldwide to stand in solidarity for the women’s movement in Iran, the organization “demand[s] an end to state-led violence and repression, as well as the immediate release of all political detainees in Iran.” The site also contains a database of women, students and journalists who have been arrested and their current status.

If you wish to show your support for women’s rights in Iran, sign the statement of solidarity today.

Read more: iran, womens rights

Hamed Saber, via Wikipedia Commons

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Loesje v.

3:06PM PDT on Aug 10, 2011

It's time to change for Iranian women. No more tirani!!!

send a green star

Mary P.

7:24AM PST on Mar 10, 2010

B Mutiny "N MANY MUSLIM COUNTRIES, WOMEN HAVE ALL OR SOME OF THE SAME RIGHTS AS WESTERN WOMEN HAVE.
And in others, THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR THEM, as our grandparents did.

TO SHOW ALL MUSLIM MEN AS MONSTERS, AND ALL MUSLIM WOMEN AS EQUALLY OPPRESSED, IS PLAIN WRONG.
It is actually a form of disguised WAR PROPAGANDA.
The U.S. is NOT INVADING ARAB COUNTRIES, TO "LIBERATE" THEIR WOMEN."

THANK YOU B Mutiny I couldnt have worded it better. Everything u have said is the ABSOLUTE TRUTH. America is getting the masses geared up for an impending bomb attack on Iran. All this propaganda is to SET THE STAGE to make the masses feel America is doing the RIGHT Thing by going into WAR with Iran. America is trying to find ANY and ALL excuses so that they can attack Iran for its Oil by putting their OWN PUPPET to RULE after the IMPENDING WAR America is busy PLANNING. These are internal issues which Iranians must sort out for themselves.
Everytime there is a domestic issue or a RAPE ATTACK on an AMERICAN Women by an American Man we dont find OTHER COUNTRIES of the WORLD Going into WAR with America to SORT OUT americas internal affairs

PLSE WAKE UP ALL PEOPLE of AMERICA and PLEASE PLEASE for the LUV Of GOD ALMIGHTY DO NOT ALLOW America to bomb Iran and its People. Innocent lives will be LOST and the Infrastructure which took years to build will be destroyed into the Dark Ages ERA.

GOD help us all if OUR COUNTRY is BLESSED with SUM WEALTH America WANTS we will be their NEXT TARGET

7:13AM PST on Mar 10, 2010

B Mutiny "N MANY MUSLIM COUNTRIES, WOMEN HAVE ALL OR SOME OF THE SAME RIGHTS AS WESTERN WOMEN HAVE.
And in others, THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR THEM, as our grandparents did.

TO SHOW ALL MUSLIM MEN AS MONSTERS, AND ALL MUSLIM WOMEN AS EQUALLY OPPRESSED, IS PLAIN WRONG.
It is actually a form of disguised WAR PROPAGANDA.
The U.S. is NOT INVADING ARAB COUNTRIES, TO "LIBERATE" THEIR WOMEN."

THANK YOU B Mutiny I couldnt have worded it better. Everything u have said is the ABSOLUTE TRUTH. America is getting the masses geared up for an impending bomb attack on Iran. All this propaganda is set the stage to make the masses feel America is doing the RIGHT Thing by going into WAR with Iran. America is trying to find ANY and ALL excuses so that they can attack Iran for its Oil by putting their OWN PUPPET to RULE after the IMPENDING WAR America is busy PLANNING. These are internal issues which Iranians must sort out for themselves.
Everytime there is a domestic issue or a RAPE ATTACK on an AMERICAN Women by an American Man we dont find OTHER COUNTRIES of the WORLD Going into WAR with America to SORT OUT americas internal affairs

PLSE WAKE UP ALL PEOPLE of AMERICA and PLEASE PLEASE for the LUV Of GOD ALMIGHTY DO NOT ALLOW America to bomb Iran and its People. Innocent lives will be LOST and the Infrastructure which took years to build will be destroyed into the Dark Ages ERA.

GOD help us all if OUR COUNTRY is BLESSED with SUM WEALTH America WANTS we will be their NEXT TARGET.

7:10AM PST on Mar 10, 2010

5:26PM PST on Mar 9, 2010

Oh but this is all fine with Steven Harper. Have you heard a single peep out of him condemning the Iranian actions?

Chinmayee J.

11:41PM PST on Mar 7, 2010

This is terrible - these countries really need to come out of their caves and realise that women are not only human beings, but the species could not go on without them and they should not be oppressed anymore!! Women are strong, intelligent, and generally peaceful, and these men could really learn from them. How can you treat your mother/daughter/sister/wife is such a way? Isn't it time that all this stopped?

Nellie K A.

12:46PM PST on Mar 7, 2010

Women's rights!

Raul M.

10:17PM PST on Mar 5, 2010

Every one, have a look please:

http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2010/mar/02/1351

rita b.

8:53PM PST on Mar 4, 2010

The Baha'is who represent the largest religious minority in Iran are viciously persecuted. Perhaps, part of the reason is because they teach complete equality between women and men.

I have not read all the posts, but as far as I can see no one has mentioned that it was covert US policy that helped set the whole mess in motion. Previous, to the Shaw, Iran had a Democratically elected president. He was over thrown with the help of the CIA and the Shaw whose ideas were more to US government's liking was put in place. The Shaw was not popular with the Iranian people for many reasons and so that is how the Ayotollaya and is minions got in. If we had not interfered where would Iran be today?

Leanna M.

5:39AM PST on Mar 3, 2010

It is soooooo time for women to stand in their feminine power and end this destructive male-dominated imbalanced rule of our world. Not that it's just women who are dis-empowered, most men are totally imbalanced too! Indigenous tribes had initiations and rights-of-passage to transition their adolescent boys into men (girls have their natural initiation at the start of their menstrual cycles). It certainly seems as if this world is being run by a group of boys, who should have grown up unto mean a long time ago! And devoid of the balanced female energies, we see the results, which aren't pretty!