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Women, Peace and Security Initiatives: Iran
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In-Country

Iran: Protest the closure of Zanan women's magazine
Zanan Magazine, a reform-minded feminist magazine has been active in promoting women's rights for the last 16 years. Authorities revoked its license and friends in Tehran worry there will be no avenue for appeal. Read the petition and sign on!

For more information, please click HERE

IRAN: One Million Signatures Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws
Iranian women’s rights activists are initiating a wide campaign demanding an end to legal discrimination against women in Iranian law. The Campaign, “One Million Signatures Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws,” which aims to collect one million signatures to demand changes to discriminatory laws against women, is a follow-up effort to the peaceful protest of the same aim, which took place on June 12, 2006 in Haft-e Tir Square in Tehran.

For more information, please click HERE

International

Support Iranian Women's Rights Movement on International Women’s Day
International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
The statement below is endorsed by Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace laureate and a leading women's rights advocate in Iran.

On International Women's Day,

We Stand In Support of Women's Human Rights in Iran

Today, the international community's attention is focused on Iran's nuclear activities and a possible military confrontation between the United States and Iran. We strongly oppose any military action against Iran that would result in great loss of life and do irreparable harm to the security of the Iranian people and destabilize this already volatile region for many years to come. At the same time, the Iranian government is exploiting the international community's preoccupation with the nuclear crisis to further repress peaceful human rights and women's rights activists. A most recent case in point is the closure of Zanan magazine, the only remaining independent print medium in Iran focusing on women's issues.

The Iranian women's rights movement is facing unprecedented obstacles and threats. On the occasion of March 8, International Women's Day, we express our solidarity with Iranian women in their quest for equal rights and an end to pervasive legal discrimination against women.

The Iranian government is preventing women from freely celebrating this important day of international solidarity. Its effort to stop expressions of support for women's rights is part of a general denial of basic social and economic rights in Iran. We call on the Iranian government to remove all restrictions on peaceful assembly and expression as required by the Iranian Constitution and in accordance with Iran's obligations under international human rights treaties.

Iranian women's rights activists have launched several peaceful campaigns for gender equality. Change for Equality, for example, is a grassroots campaign to collect one million signatures asking that Iranian laws to conform with international law requiring non-discrimination based on gender. The Iranian government continues harshly to persecute (and prosecute) the campaign's activists. Dozens of women's activists have been detained over the past two years and have court cases pending against them. Several have been sentenced to lengthy prison sentences. Security and intelligence forces routinely interrogate, harass, and intimidate campaign activists. We call on the Iranian government immediately to halt repressive actions against women's rights activists and to work together with them to make Iran a place where women and men enjoy equal rights, and a country that upholds international human rights laws and standards.

On this occasion of the International Women's Day, we, the undersigned, express our solidarity with Iranian women and men committed to universal human rights--now, and in the future.

For more information, please click here

Alert! Iran: New Wave of Arrests of Non-Violent "One Million Signatures" Campaign Activists
Women's Learning Partnership (WLP) - December 3, 2007
Women's Learning Partnership (WLP) strongly condemns the Iranian government's unceasing repression of the civil society, especially the recent wave of arrests of Iran's women's rights activists. The latest in a string of arrests, One Million Signatures campaign member Jelveh Javaheri was imprisoned on Saturday, December 1 after undergoing interrogation at the security branch of the Revolutionary Courts. She is the fourth campaign activist arrested since October.

Maryam Hosseinkhah, a journalist and active campaign member, was arrested on November 18 and remains in Evin prison. Ms. Javaheri and Ms. Hosseinkhah have both been charged with "inciting public opinion, propaganda against the state, and publication of false information on the website of the campaign" of Change for Equality, a campaign for freedom of speech and women's human rights.

Hana Abdi and Ronak Safazadeh, friends and active campaign members, were arrested in Kurdistan Province, Iran on October 10 and November 4 respectively, for unspecified reasons.

Also this past month, Delaram Ali was sentenced to 2 years 6 months in prison and 10 lashes for her participation in the June 12, 2006 peaceful protest in support of women's rights.

Women's Learning Partnership (WLP) is deeply concerned about the increasing number of women's rights activists arrested recently. To date, over forty individuals have been arrested in relation to their peaceful activities in support of the One Million Signatures campaign.

To help these courageous women and to protest the wrongful arrests and sentencing of non-violent campaign activists, please write to:

Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Iran
Email: info@leader.ir
Fax: +98-21-649-5880 or +98-21-774-2228

Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi
Head of the Judiciary
Ministry of Justice
Park-e Shahr
Tehran, Iran
Email: Irjpr@iranjudiciary.com
Fax : +98-21-879-6671

Mr. Mohammad Khazaee
Ambassador to the United Nations
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Ave.
New York, NY 10017, United States
Email: mkhazaee@un.int
Fax: +1-212-867-7086

For more information, go to WLP's website, or to visit the official campaign website click here

To sign the petition and help the campaigners reach their goal of one million signatures to end discriminatory laws against women click here

Call for Participation: International Support for Women’s Campaign
Iranian women’s rights activists are initiating a wide campaign demanding an end to discriminatory laws against women in the Iranian law. The Campaign “One Million Signatures Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws” is a follow-up effort to the peaceful protest of the same aim, which took place on June 12, 2006 in Haft-e Tir Square in Tehran. It will provide education on legal issues to the public and especially to women, raise public awareness, promote collaboration between groups demanding equality between men and women, and document experiences.

For more information on this campaign, please click HERE

Iran: An open letter from Shirin Ebadi
August 11, 2006 - Shirin Ebadi
There is a very important matter I would like to discuss with you. I conduct my human rights activities through the Defender of Human Rights Center (DHRC). Two days ago the government of Iran announced that the center is illegal. (Shirin Ebadi)

For full letter please click here

Urge Iran to Stop Stoning Women
August 10, 2006 - Feminist Majority Foundation
Ashraf Kolhari, an Iranian mother of four, has been sentenced to death for allegedly having sex outside of wedlock. Kolhari was given this brutal sentence for having an affair after the Iranian court system refused to grant her a divorce from her husband. The stoning could be carried out at any time.

Please, act now by writing to the Iranian government and the United Nations, demanding that Iran stop the cruel practice of stoning and commute Ashraf Kolhari’s death sentence.

For more information click here

nobel women's initiative: LAUREATES Demand a Peaceful Solution to Iran-U.S. Conflict

The Nobel Women's Initiative is a new project of women Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, including Jody Williams (US, 1997), Shirin Ebadi (Iran, 2003), Betty Williams (Ireland, 1976), Rigoberta Menchu Tum (Guatemala, 1992) and Wangari Maathai (Kenya, 2004). These five women -- representing North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa -- have decided to bring together their extraordinary experiences in a united effort for peace with justice and equality.

In April 2006, Jody Williams and Shirin Ebadi-- feeling a particular responsibility as US and Iranian Peace Laureates – issued a joint statement on the growing tensions between their governments. (click here for this statement).

Between 6-8 June, 2006 Ms. Williams and Ms. Ebadi led a delegation of American and Iranian civil society representatives to Vienna for meetings with representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors, prior to the Board’s meeting the following week. The delegation met with representatives of various governments on the Board including Australia, Austria (current President of the European Union), Egypt (Vice Chair of the Board), Canada, France, Germany, The Russian Federation, South Africa, the United Kingdom.

click here for the final statement issued after this visit

click here for news on the delegation's visit to Vienna

For more information on the Nobel Women's initiative visit
http://www.nobelwomensinitiative.org

Condemn the Iranian Government's Crackdown on Civil Society
Women's Rights Organizations & Women's Learning Partnership
12 November 2004
A WLP colleague and NGO leader on a visit to the United States told us today that she has been informed that under the present atmosphere following the crackdown on civil society and women's rights organizations, returning to Iran would place her in danger of imprisonment. We urge you to join other human rights and women's rights activists across the world to condemn the Iranian government's campaign against civil sociey and peaceful activism and to demand the immediate release of Mahbubeh Abbasgholizadeh and Ferseshteh Ghazi. For more information, visit:
http://www.learningpartnership.org/events/newsalerts/iran1104.phtml