On Sept. 14, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died while detained by Iran’s morality police. Arrested for wearing her hijab improperly and in violation of Iranian laws, Amini was reportedly severely beaten over three days of detention, before collapsing and eventually dying. While the Iranian government claimed she died of a heart attack, her death spurred widespread protests against the treatment of women in Iran. Led by women and young people, these demonstrations renewed interest in Iran’s oppression of women and girls.
Three months later, Iran was kicked out of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) via an unprecedented and US-introduced resolution. Predictably, the motion stirred controversy. Iranian ambassadors asserted that they “categorically rejected and strongly condemned” the resolution and that adopting it would be “exceedingly dangerous to the UN system integrity.” However, voting Iran off of the CSW was the correct decision; Iran’s treatment of women and protesters is atrocious, and allowing them to remain on the panel would have jeopardized its legitimacy.
The Iranian Regime’s treatment of women has long been a focal point of global criticism. A 2021 report commissioned by the UN claimed that Iranian women and girls were treated as “second class citizens.” The report, presented to the body on International Women’s Day, highlighted several issues, such as domestic violence. Special Rapporteur Javaid Rehman raised concerns over the protection of women from violence, writing that “existing protections against violence are insufficient” and do not “comprehensively safeguard” women and children from domestic abuse.
Another concern of Rehman’s was the horrifying rates of child marriage. According to the Civil Registration Organization, there were 118,000 known marriages of girls under 18 in Iran, making up over a fifth of all Iranian marriages. This is because the legal marriage age in Iran is 13 years old, or even younger with parental consent. Not only are these laws morally atrocious, but they represent a larger issue within Iran: the legal autonomy of women. Rehman’s report states that in most areas of life, such as marriage, divorce, employment, and culture, women are “restricted or need permission from their husbands or paternal guardians.” This treatment of women, who are not given choice, but rather made to obey the whim of the men deemed in control of them, is dehumanizing and criminal. It strips women of their autonomy and dignity while allowing atrocities like domestic violence, or rampant rates of child marriage.
Iran’s so-called “morality police,” officially titled the Gasht-e-Ershad, or guidance patrol, illustrates this dehumanization clearly. Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, describes the morality police as “state security forces who are assigned… to harass and subjugate women,” in what is a “show… of force,” by the Iranian government. They mainly police women’s clothing, with an emphasis on the correct wearing of hijabs. Assal Rad, of the National Iranian American Council, explains that if clothing is “too tight…shows too much, if your sleeves are up, if your jeans are torn,” the morality police will punish these infractions. Violators will be detained until they are brought lawful clothing. It is during this detention that Mahsa Amini was beaten into a coma, and subsequently died. In response, thousands of protestors spilled into Iran’s streets to demand justice, bringing global focus to the morality police and their oppressive violence.
Unfortunately, this violence has escalated during the demonstrations for women, proving once again the cruelty of the Iranian government. Iran Human Rights found that at least 458 protestors have been killed by Iranian law enforcement—63 children and 29 women. Four girls have been beaten to death by the police. 11 protestors have been sentenced to death, and two have already been executed. Mercilessly killing human rights protestors is fascistic and marks the extreme action Iran will take to silence Iranian women. The backlash has been so intense that an investigation was launched by the UN into human rights violations in the Iranian protests.
All of this contributes to the recent ousting of Iran from the UN CSW. Any defense of Iran cannot be made without ignoring the facts. Allowing Iran, a country that has repeatedly violated human rights and perpetuated violent oppression of women within its borders, to sit on an international committee on the human rights of women is indefensible. Not only does it undermine the legitimacy of the entire committee and its purpose, but it negates any support of women’s rights from the countries on the committee. Allowing Iran to remain would abet their atrocities and make us complicit in their crimes.
While explaining the decision to introduce the resolution that removed Iran from the CSW, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, put it best; “I think it sends a strong message [to Iranian women]: We are here for you, we’ve got your back, we are going to stand with you.” In order to maintain the credibility of both the UN and the US on human rights, booting Iran was indisputably the correct choice; anything else would have been no better than condoning their oppressive regime. In fact, removing Iran from the CSW was the only correct choice to maintain the credibility of both the UN and the US.
Written by Avni Koenig of Thomas S. Wootton High School
Graphic courtesy of Chloe Kim of Seneca Valley High School