NEWS
Iranian women's Brief #54
Misogynist rulers of Iran lack capacity even to debate women's rights
Women's Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
October 4, 2002

The state-run dailies in Iran reported yesterday that on the orders of the leadership of the mullahs' Majlis (parliament), a bill calling for the clerical regime's accession to the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was eliminated from the legislative agenda.

Commenting on this issue, Ms. Sarvnaz Chitsaz, Chair of the Women's Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, said: "This bill was no more than a deceitful ploy by Khatami's gang right from the beginning, because it stated so many reactionary reservations about the convention that it practically amounted to a clear rejection of the Convention in its totality. But it just shows the depth of mullahs' misogyny in Iran, when they cannot even tolerate a debate on this bill and the Majlis leadership, made up of members of Khatami's faction, had to bar any debate on the bill."

Ms. Chitsaz added: "A few days ago, the mullahs' Guardians Council rejected a bill giving women the 'right to divorce'. The bill was adopted by the Majlis stated that women can only ask for divorce by 'observing the conditions defined by the law' which in practice deprives the women of the right to divorce. A few weeks earlier, the Guardians Council rejected the proposal to grant custody of under-seven-year-old children to their mothers under the pretext of it being 'against the religion' and retained the status quo, which takes away the custody of boys older than 2 and girls older than 7 from their mothers.

The Women's Committee Chair said: "As far as the barbaric suppression and the most inhuman acts of discrimination against women are concerned, there is no difference Between various factions within the mullahs' regime. Ploys by Khatami's faction and the Mullahs’ Majlis are merely designed to deceive public opinion outside Iran and reduce International pressures. The bitter reality of daily life for Iranian women is nothing but Suppression, humiliation, torture, flogging, discrimination and stoning to death. Under The rule of mullahs' misogyny, Iran is number one in the world in atrocities against Women and the highest number of suicides and depression in the world belong to Iran."

By referring to the catastrophic impact on the state of women brought about by the Termination of international monitoring of the human rights situation in Iran, Ms. Chitsaz Called on organizations and personalities defending women's rights around the world to Do their utmost to ensure that the European Union tables a resolution at the current Session of the UN General Assembly to strongly condemn human rights violations in Iran, particularly the atrocities against women.

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