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	Iran: Punishments on women and girls who fail to wear the headscarf (hijab) by UN Office for Human Rights (OHCHR)   Apr. 2024   Iranian women violently dragged from streets by police amid hijab crackdown. (Guardian News)   Harrowing first-hand accounts of women being dragged from the streets of Iran and detained by security services have emerged as human rights groups say country’s hijab rules have been brutally enforced since 13 April.   The new campaign, called Noor (“light” in Persian), was announced to crack down on “violations” of the country’s draconian hijab rules, which dictate that all women must cover their heads in public.   Hours later, videos verified by human rights groups showing women and girls being forcefully arrested by agents of the notorious Gasht-e-Irshad (“morality police”) flooded social media along with stories of beatings and assault.   One mother and daughter walking through a busy Tehran square were surrounded by five chador-clad female agents and two male agents, who hurled insults and accusations before they grabbed the women. When they resisted arrest, they were violently dragged into the van, a source close to the family said.   Dina Ghalibaf, a student at Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University and was among the first to tweet about a confrontation. On her now suspended X (formerly Twitter) account, she said: “Yesterday in the police room of Sadeghiyeh metro station, I insisted that I had the right to use the metro as a citizen and a taxpayer. But then, they violently dragged me into a room and Tasered me. They handcuffed me and one of the officers sexually assaulted me.”   A day after her post, she was reportedly arrested and transferred to the notorious Evin prison. The state judiciary’s Mizan news agency announced that Ghalibaf will face legal action and refuted her allegations of sexual assault.   However, jailed Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi sent a voice message – published by relatives on Instagram – about Ghalibaf’s visible bruises. In the post, she urged Iranian women to share their stories of arrest and sexual assault at the hands of the security forces.   The Guardian spoke to the families of two women who were arrested last week and three women who were arrested by the Gasht-e-Irshad. One young woman from Tehran said: “Around eight agents surrounded me on Saturday and started screaming at me. They hurl insults like ‘whore’, ‘naked America-loving slut’ – all while kicking me in the legs, stomach and everywhere. They don’t care where they hit you.”   Another woman said: “Both women and men touch our bodies during arrests. They say they’re religious and loyal Muslims, but don’t care if the male agents touch our bodies, which is supposedly forbidden for them to do. There were around six evil women agents and three of them attacked me. Two of them held my hands [behind] my back and one of them tried to throw me into the white van. Two male agents then violently grabbed my arms and pushed me into the van. While in the van, they were verbally abusing us and took five or six of us – arrested for hijab – to the detention centre in Gisha.”   The woman added that at the detention centre she saw about 40 detained women. After spending more than five hours in detention, where they were subjected to insults and beatings, some of the women were released.   A family member told the Guardian: “My mother was kicked in her legs, and now has bruises and long lasting injuries to her legs. During her arrest, the agents called her ‘ugly’, ‘old dog’ and a ‘crone’, and continued hitting her.”   The Guardian has seen pictures of at least two women who showed signs of violent attacks, which they say occurred during their detention last week. Since nationwide protests gripped Iran after the death in custody of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini, independent human rights organisations and the UN fact-finding mission on Iran have investigated cases of rape and sexual assault of protesters, concluding that the Iranian regime committed crimes against humanity.   Speaking on the continued repression, Shabnam, a student, said: “In and around Valiasr Square there’s always police present. It’s not just ‘morality police’ or hijab bans, even the traffic police have joined hands in making our lives hell. They stop motorcycles, cars, taxis … wherever they find women driving or seated without a hijab. Some get fined, some have their vehicles confiscated and others get away with a warning but later receive an SMS that they need to come and surrender their vehicle because they’ve defied hijab rules. Many of my friends have received these SMSs.”   “I want the free world to hear the tragic stories of women who experienced gender discrimination in Iran and Afghanistan in a united movement,” she said.   Kosar Eftekhari, a 24-year-old artist was blinded by the security forces during protests and has now joined other women to speak up. “I was arrested eight times by the ‘morality police’ – the Islamic Republic took my eyesight simply for being unveiled,” said Eftekhari, urging world leaders to recognise and classify the Islamic Republic as a gender apartheid regime.   The “chastity and hijab bill” was sent back to the Iranian parliament by the country’s Guardian Council in October 2023 for further clarifications of “vague” terms. Human rights activists fear women could face longer jail terms and the harshest punishments when the law is implemented.   An Iranian student said: “There are hijab ‘protectors’ swarming and stationed almost permanently in the Shahr and Enghelab theatre subway. There’s no escaping them and I want the world to know.   “We are not going anywhere, there’s no wearing of hijab or following the rules of this regime. We boycotted the elections and we won’t stop.”   http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/apr/24/iranian-women-violently-dragged-from-streets-by-police-amid-hijab-crackdown http://www.ips-journal.eu/interviews/iranian-society-is-far-ahead-of-its-current-laws-7778/ http://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20240916-two-years-after-death-mahsa-amini-quiet-revolution-in-iran-women-protest-reformers http://www.hrw.org/news/2024/09/16/women-and-human-rights-organizations-urgently-call-release-women-human-rights http://www.hrw.org/news/2024/09/16/iran-2-years-womans-death-no-change http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/03/iran-institutional-discrimination-against-women-and-girls-enabled-human http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/09/iran-two-years-after-woman-life-freedom-uprising-impunity-for-crimes-reigns-supreme/   22 Sep. 2023   Iran – Concerns over Chastity and Hijab Bill. (OHCHR)   We deeply regret the Iranian parliament’s passing of the new Chastity and Hijab Bill which vastly increases jail terms and provides for crushing fines on women and girls who do not obey the compulsory dress code. In that context, the Bill also targets vague notions of promotion of “nudity” or “indecency”. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, reiterates that this draconian bill flagrantly flies in the face of international law, and that it must be shelved.   Under this new, even stricter bill - which is now in its final stage of consideration before the Guardian Council - those flouting the country’s strict Islamic dress code on head coverings and modest clothing risk up to 10 years in jail.   Under the same bill, those found in breach could also be flogged, as well as fined up to 360 million Iranian rials (USD 8,522.73). They also face travel restrictions and deprivation of online access. Under the previous legislation, such an offence carried a jail term of up to two months, or a fine of up to 500,000 Iranian rials (USD 11.84).   The decree - which is fully named the Bill to Support the Family by Promoting the Culture of Chastity and Hijab - is both repressive and demeaning. Women and girls must not be treated as second class citizens. The authorities have a duty to respect, protect and fulfil – equally - the rights of all Iranians.   Our Office urges the Iranian authorities to take steps to eliminate this and all other forms of gender-based discrimination, and to repeal all associated laws and practices.   We also call on the authorities to abolish all regulations and procedures whereby specifically women’s behaviour in public is monitored, and to introduce laws and policies that enable women and girls to exercise their human rights, including their right to fully participate in public life, without fear of retribution and discrimination.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2023/09/iran-concerns-over-chastity-and-hijab-bill   Sep. 2023   Iran’s proposed hijab law could amount to “gender apartheid”: UN experts. (OHCHR)   UN experts have expressed grave concern over a new draft law, currently under review in the Iranian parliament, which imposes a series of new punishments on women and girls who fail to wear the headscarf (hijab).   “The draft law could be described as a form of gender apartheid, as authorities appear to be governing through systemic discrimination with the intention of suppressing women and girls into total submission,” the experts said.   They stressed that the proposed “Bill to Support the Family by Promoting the Culture of Chastity and Hijab” and existing de facto restrictions are inherently discriminatory and may amount to gender persecution.   “The draft law imposes severe punishments on women and girls for non-compliance which may lead to its violent enforcement,” the experts said.   “The bill also violates fundamental rights, including the right to take part in cultural life, the prohibition of gender discrimination, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to peaceful protest, and the right to access social, educational, and health services, and freedom of movement.”   The use of culture by the Iranian government as a tool to restrict the rights of women and girls is misplaced, the experts warned. “Culture is formed and evolves with the participation of all,” they said.   By using terms such as “nudity, lack of chastity, lack of hijab, bad dressing and acts against public decency leading to disturbance of peace”, the draft law seeks to authorise public institutions to deny essential services and opportunities to persons who fail to comply with compulsory veiling. Directors and managers of organisations who fail to implement the law could also be punished.   “The weaponisation of “public morals” to deny women and girls their freedom of expression is deeply disempowering and will entrench and expand gender discrimination and marginalisation, with wider negative consequences for children and society as a whole,” the experts said.   The morality police have also been reportedly redeployed in some areas since early July 2023, potentially to enforce compulsory veiling requirements.   “After months of nationwide protests over the death of Jina Mahsa Amini and against restrictive veiling laws, the authorities have introduced a tiered system of punishments targeting women and girls,” the experts said. “The punishments include deprivation of a range of basic freedoms and social and economic rights, which will disproportionately affect economically marginalised women,” they said.   “We urge authorities to reconsider the compulsory hijab legislation in compliance with international human rights law, and to ensure the full enjoyment of human rights for all women and girls in Iran,” the experts said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/09/irans-proposed-hijab-law-could-amount-gender-apartheid-un-experts http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/09/iran-one-year-anniversary-jina-mahsa-aminis-death-custody-heightened   Sep. 2023   India – Passing of Women’s Reservation Bill   UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk welcomes the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in India, which will reserve one third of seats in national and state parliaments for women.   This landmark bill, passed by both houses of parliament, will also constitutionally entrench women’s representation in parliament, and be a transformative move in upholding the right to participation for women and gender equality in India.   Looking at the example India has set, the High Commissioner calls on parliamentarians around the world to adopt legislative measures – including, where necessary, gender quotas – in order to ensure women’s voices at the centre of their nations’ political discourse, in full parity with others.   The Bill requires ratification by at least 50 percent of the states, and we call for their swift support. The High Commissioner calls on the Government to implement the new system as soon as possible, alongside the existing reservation for ‘scheduled castes’ and ‘scheduled tribes’.   We stress the importance of fostering an enabling environment for the participation of women from all backgrounds in public life – which can have profound, positive implications for society as a whole.   This is an important step towards implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals as well as India’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2023/09/india-passing-womens-reservation-bill http://carnegieendowment.org/2023/09/26/india-s-new-gender-quota-law-is-win-for-women-mostly-pub-90644 http://www.ohchr.org/en/topic/gender-equality-and-womens-rights Visit the related web page
	World Humanitarian Day by Dr. Natalia Kanem United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)   Aug. 2023   Conflict and natural disasters are compounding the challenges and hardship faced by millions of people around the world, driving record levels of displacement and humanitarian need. UNFPA continues to deliver on our unwavering promise to leave no one behind, providing a lifeline of support for women and girls, who pay a steep price during humanitarian crises.   When crisis strikes, UNFPA mobile clinics and teams take reproductive health and protection services to some of the hardest-to-reach women and girls. In 2022, UNFPA’s reproductive health services reached 22 million people in emergency settings. Programmes to prevent and respond to gender-based violence assisted over 2.3 million more. Thanks to UNFPA’s humanitarian outreach, more women survived childbirth, fewer HIV transmissions occurred, and survivors of violence found safe havens and hope.   On this year’s World Humanitarian Day, we pay tribute to our dedicated humanitarian colleagues safeguarding the health, dignity, safety and rights of women, girls and young people in more than 60 countries globally.   They inspire us with their courage and resilience – their refusal to give up and commitment to do more each day. Their persistence reminds us that the bright light of human possibility refuses to dim, even amidst the most challenging circumstances.   The lifesaving assistance humanitarians provide has never been more needed, yet it is increasingly under threat. Assaults against aid workers, especially women, are rampant. Health facilities, including maternity hospitals, are under attack in conflict settings.   Just as women’s and girls’ needs skyrocket, services that are vital to their health and survival become more difficult to access or find. War and emergencies are also driving a global rise in sexual violence and its use as a terror tactic.   UNFPA calls for urgent increased investment in protecting the health and safety of women and girls caught in humanitarian crises, and support for the local and women-led organizations best placed to meet the needs of affected communities. In every emergency, our humanitarian response must prioritize sexual and reproductive health and rights, and protection from gender-based violence.   Such support is essential. It not only ensures that we meet women’s most urgent needs, but also helps them to move beyond crises to find hope and opportunity, often against all odds. We saw that when Khawla, a young woman, was able to give birth safely to quadruplets by Caesarean section at a UNFPA-supported clinic, just days after the devastating earthquake in northwest Syria. And we saw it in Afghanistan when Mursal, a UNFPA-supported peer educator unable to go to school, told us that “giving up is not an option”.   These are just a few examples of the millions of people UNFPA is working with partners to support in crisis-stricken communities. Yet, so much more needs to be done. While humanitarian needs may be great, they are matched by our determination to support and work with the women and girls who are counting on us. No matter what, we will continue to stand by their side when they need us most.   http://www.unfpa.org/press/statement-unfpa-executive-director-dr-natalia-kanem-world-humanitarian-day-2023 http://www.unfpa.org/emergencies Visit the related web page
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