{"id":197,"date":"2016-01-31T07:55:42","date_gmt":"2016-01-31T07:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/codir.net\/?p=197"},"modified":"2016-01-31T07:58:44","modified_gmt":"2016-01-31T07:58:44","slug":"womens-rights-in-iran-human-rights-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/codir.net\/?p=197","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s Rights in Iran – Human Rights Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Women\u2019s rights are severely restricted in Iran, to the point where women are even forbidden from watching men\u2019s sports in stadiums. That ban includes Iran\u2019s national obsession \u2013 volleyball.<\/p>\n

Human Rights Watch is launching a new campaign, #Watch4Women, to support Iranian women fighting this ugly discrimination. What we\u2019re asking is simple: that the International Volleyball Federation, known as the FIVB, uphold its own rules and agree not to allow Iran to host future tournaments \u2013 unless it allows Iranian women to attend.<\/p>\n

The ban on women in sports stadiums is emblematic of the repression of women across the country. Women confront\u00a0serious discrimination<\/a>\u00a0on issues such as marriage, divorce, and child custody. Women have been sent to jail for publicly speaking out in favor of equal rights for women. Because the government wants Iran\u2019s population to grow, it\u2019s even moving to ban voluntary medical procedures women can undergo to avoid becoming pregnant. And that\u2019s just the beginning.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just women who are repressed in Iran. Anyone who openly criticizes the government risks being thrown in jail. The government also discriminates against ethnic communities like the Kurds and Balochs, as well as people belonging to the Baha\u2019i faith.<\/p>\n

How else are women\u2019s rights restricted in Iran?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Iran holds regular elections, and its president, Hassan Rouhani, says he wants reforms, as do many Iranians. But much of the country\u2019s power lies with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran\u2019s supreme leader. Khamenei\u2019s office oversees Iran\u2019s military, judicial courts, and the media. A conservative newspaper that has often supported the Ayatollah described the notion of\u00a0“gender equality” as “unacceptable to the Islamic Republic.”<\/a><\/p>\n

You see this played out across women\u2019s lives. Women in Iran are forced to wear the hijab, the headscarf worn by some Muslim women, in public. This even applies to young schoolgirls, who are required to wear the head covering to attend elementary school.<\/p>\n

Moreover, married women can\u2019t even leave the country without their husband\u2019s permission. In fact, in September the captain of Iran\u2019s female football (soccer) team, Niloufar Ardalan, couldn\u2019t play in an international tournament in Malaysia because her husband\u00a0forbade her<\/a>\u00a0from traveling.<\/p>\n

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\"Iran<\/a><\/div>
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Women attend Friday prayers in Tehran February 4, 2011<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2011 Reuters<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Iran does allow women to play sports, like football and volleyball. But none of these women are allowed to do something as simple as watch men play volleyball, even if their brothers, sons, or husbands are playing. In fact,\u00a0Ghoncheh Ghavami<\/a>, 25, a dual Iranian-British national, was arrested when she tried to attend a volleyball game in Tehran.\u00a0 Police are often posted around stadiums, in part to keep women out.<\/p>\n

Convincing Iran to allow women to watch sports would be an important initial step toward ensuring that women \u2013 and others \u2013 enjoy the freedom they\u2019re entitled to.<\/p>\n

Iran isn\u2019t the only country that discriminates against women when it comes to sports. Saudi Arabia doesn\u2019t even let girls in state-funded schools take gym class, and the country stops Saudi women from watching men play football in stadiums. For those pushing for change in the Middle East region, there is much work to be done to improve the lives of women.<\/p>\n

What other human rights abuses happen in Iran?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"Jason<\/a><\/div>
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Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American correspondent for the Washington Post, smiles as he attends a presidential campaign of President Hassan Rouhani on April 11, 2013 in Tehran, Iran.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2013 Associated Press<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Across the board, Iran\u2019s human rights situation is\u00a0dire<\/a>. It\u2019s hard to say what tops the list of abuses, but there are severe restrictions on free speech in Iran. Iran is one of the world\u2019s biggest jailers of journalists, bloggers and social media activists, says\u00a0Reporters Without Borders<\/a>. It\u2019s the kind of place where even a Facebook post could land someone in jail. Iran has unfairly imprisoned the\u00a0Washington Post\u00a0correspondent,\u00a0Jason Rezaian<\/a>,\u00a0who is still behind bars. In Iran, people go to jail for \u201cinsulting\u201d the supreme leader, president, or other government officials \u2013 something that should never be a crime.<\/p>\n

In May, 2014, police\u00a0arrested<\/a>\u00a0four young men and three women who created a video of themselves dancing together to Pharrell Williams\u2019 hit song, \u201cHappy,\u201d which went viral on YouTube. The charges against them included engaging in \u201cillicit relations.\u201d<\/p>\n

How does the Iran nuclear deal play into human rights?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You may have heard in the news that over the summer, Iran signed a nuclear deal with other world powers. This means that Iran has agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for other countries lifting sanctions, which limit Iran\u2019s trade and hurt its economy.<\/p>\n

Now that the nuclear deal is done, Human Rights Watch believes the rest of the world should pressure Iran to reform and treat all of its citizens with dignity.<\/p>\n

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