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Iran Gets UN Nod to Work for Women's Rights
Yesterday, we learned that the United Nations elected Iran to its Commission on the Status of Women, which is "dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women,” thereby handing a four-year seat on the influential human rights body to a misogynist theocratic state, where lashings are required for women judged as "immodest" and where death by stoning is almost a national pastime. According to a story by Joseph Abrahms on Iran’s election to the commission:
“Buried 2,000 words deep in a U.N. press release distributed Wednesday on the filling of vacancies in subsidiary bodies, was the stark announcement: Iran, along with representatives from 10 other nations, was elected by acclamation, meaning that no open vote was requested or required by any member states.
The U.S. currently holds one of the 45 seats on the body, a position set to expire in 2012. The U.S. Mission to the U.N. did not return requests for comment on whether it actively opposed elevating Iran to the women's commission.”
The UN is now officially a joke. The countries that allowed Iran to participate in the Commission on the Status of Women have shown themselves sadly lacking in both integrity and moral fiber. By their actions/ inactions, they have proven that women's rights is on the back burner of the UN agenda.
Women have been tortured and murdered in Iran, because they dared to speak out against a stolen election. Young, brave women joined Iran's Green Party and demonstrated with other young Iranians against the results of the Presidential election. They revolted against their government, the system it perpetuates, and an election they called fraudulent. Our President and his administration to our discredit remained largely silent about that election and about the Iranian people, who protested, were beaten, and died in the streets, because they believed they had the right to pick their own leader.
The Obama Administration and the members of the UN have forgotten that the World saw the video where the young Neda died in a Tehran street, gunned down by a government thug. Her dying image ranks alongside that of the 1989 unnamed man standing in front of a Red Army tank in Tiananmen Square. We remember that man in Beijing and we remember Neda; her image is ingrained in the memories of freedom loving people everywhere.
As a result of UN inaction and silence, we witnessed the ruthless treatment of Iranian citizens by Iran’s Khamenei and Ahmadinejad. Now, we witness the UN electing Iran to a commission that deals with women’s rights. The global organization is either clueless or has adopted a new mindset that is antithetical to its original charter.
What role does DR Susan Rice, our Ambassador to the UN, play in this travesty of justice? Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, claims “women’s rights are human rights,” but this happened under her watch. It’s time for these women to pony up, because their silence will speak louder than words.
What about the White House? Why is it silent? Our country expected more from the POTUS, who claimed his inter-racial background and early global experiences gave him the background necessary to lead America. We did not heed the warning when he spoke in Egypt, focusing on women’s rights by staunchly supporting the wearing of the hijib. It should have prepared us. The “Constitution scholar” by both his actions and inactions shows a lack of respect for human rights that is the cornerstone of our government.
How have we come to this? Is there no integrity left in our leadership? Is there not one voice in our government that will be raised in dissent of this travesty?
I have shared a personal experience before, but it bears repeating here. When I was young girl and visited New York for the first time, I begged my family to see the United Nations building and the UN Plaza. I cherished the notion that together the people of the world could make the planet a better place.
I’ve since grown up. The UN has become a platform for dissident voices that seek to destroy the liberties enjoyed by democratic societies. In its latest action, the United Nations has raised misogynists to a place of prominence on a council dealing with the rights of women.
Bulldoze the large piece of expensive real estate on the East side of Manhattan, so New York can sell the property and balance its budget. In that way, the property will finally prove itself useful. In that way, we can show Iranian women who suffer daily under the yoke of a repressive, murderous government that the World has not gone mad.
Think I’ve gone too far? Perhaps you didn’t read the story coming out of Iran this week declaring Suntanned Women to Be Arrested under Islamic Dress Code:
Brig Hossien Sajedinia, Tehran's police chief, said a national crackdown on opposition sympathizers would be extended to women who have been deemed to be violating the spirit of Islamic laws. He said: "The public expects us to act firmly and swiftly if we see any social misbehavior by women, and men, who defy our Islamic values.
In some areas of north Tehran we can see many suntanned women and young girls who look like walking mannequins. "We are not going to tolerate this situation and will first warn those found in this manner and then arrest and imprison them."
Iran's Islamic leadership has in recent weeks launched a scaremongering campaign to persuade the population that vice is sweeping the streets of the capital. National law stipulates that women wear headscarves and shape shrouding cloaks but many women, particularly in the capital, spend heavily on fashions that barely adhere to the regulations.
The announcement came shortly after Ayatollah Kazim Sadighi, a leading cleric, warned that women who dressed immodestly disturbed young men and the consequent agitation caused earthquakes.
Another preacher warned Tehran's citizens to flee before the inevitable punishment for flagrant behavior was visited on the city. "Go on the streets and repent for your sins," Ayatollah Aziz Khoshvaqt, one of the country's highest clerics, told worshippers during a recent sermon in northern Tehran. "A holy torment is upon us. Leave town."
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http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/04/29/elects-iran-commission-womens-rights/
- BJinAmerica's blog
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being on the commission, will embarrass Iran into changing it's ways. I don't think so but we can hope.
Civil Discourse - ERA - A Mother President - Women's Rights - Primary Reform
This is from the International Campaign to Close Down Iranian Embassies (http://www.closedowniranianembassies.com/):
Open letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, BAN KI-MOON,The United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights,Its senior management groupAndThe 47 nation members of the UN Human Rights Council !
Dear Sirs/Madams
The International Campaign to close down Iranian Embassies would like to emphasize that the violation of human rights in Iran predates the election last June of Ahmadinejad. The report presented by Britain, France, and the United States on February 15, 2010 is misleading by stressing the abuses only occurred after the election. Right from the beginning of this regime, people in Iran have experienced various abuses and their rights have been violated as the government set out to establish Sharia Law as the laws of the state. These laws and regulations are the most anti-human, anti-women and anti-modernist. Such barbaric laws truly belong to the era of 1400 years ago. All concerned citizens globally must wonder whether we are talking about Iran as a state in 21st century.
Discrimination against women and the oppression of women have taken the most grotesque and outrageous forms against womens rights. These rights have been increasingly under attack through Irans enforcement of Sharia Law. Women are being subjected to abuse for disobeying Islamic standards. Daily degradation of women, prohibition from many forms of employment, field of study and sports, sexual segregation in buses, schools and public places, stoning to death of women or murdering them for sexual relations outside marriage, acid-throwing in the faces of women and flogging in public for putting on makeup, arresting and gang raping women are routine practices of this regime. Private cars are often stopped and the women and young girls are forcefully separated and insulted in front of other family members. And then, after being dragged away, other members of their family are assaulted too. Actions like these put the Iranian regime on par with the cruelty of the Taliban.
Mass arrests include young mothers who have been tortured before their children to obtain confessions. Then with their child/children, some under a year old, they were left in solitary confinement, sometimes for days, bleeding and with broken bones. Often their children were also tortured before their motherâs eyes. Such inhuman behavior can be compared to the Nazi regime during the second war.
There is no need to send a team of investigators from the United Nations to do an "inquiry mechanism to shed light on these violation" as was proposed by the French, British and American governments. There is already a system in place. Access to all the reports of the three million refugees who went through UNHCR and have already been questioned about the abuse, torture and loss of beloved ones by execution is already at your disposal through the UNHCR offices. After, these reports were submitted to various countries ; the United Nation has access to the number of executions with names, gender, date of birth and pictures of dead bodies, sometimes through the victims family or victims organizations . There is no doubt that United Nations receives news, pictures, reports, letters, weblogs on YouTube, on daily bases, either from survivors or other members of victims with respect to the facts mentioned above. Reports of Amnesty International on violation of human rights in Iran is open to the public too.
Soon people in Iran along with concerned citizens globally will put all the leaders of Islamic regime of Iran on trial for all the heinous state crimes they have committed in Iran. But until then the International Campaign to close down Iranian Embassies has very rightfully demanded that Secretary-General of the United Nations, BAN KI-MOON, the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights and its senior management group, adopt a resolution for closing down all Iranian Embassies around the world. This is the least global citizens expect the United Nation do.
If the above mentioned crimes are not enough for such a resolution, then let us study the crimes this regime has committed against children.
There cannot be found any law or regulation that benefits children in general, in the Islamic state of Iran. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was never adopted by the Islamic Regime of Iran. Children are segregated at very young age. The hijib has been imposed on girls as young as 5 years old. In schools, the Sharia law is paramount and is teaching young girls to become submissive and young boys cruelty towards women and brutality towards girls. Furthermore, Sharia law has taken over the childhood children by preventing young girls and boys participating in social and leisure activities. Forced marriage and child brides are permitted and the husband can be as old as her grandfather. The Regime also has been involved in sexual trafficking of girls and children are sold as sex slaves. States with laws of Sharia have permitted short term marriages or sigheh. Young girls are sold into prostitution as short term marriages, in which these marriages can last from one hour to several years. In 21st century language a Child Brides is another name for abduction and rape and it is considered a serious crime. Children are being arrested, tortured, forced to witness torture of their beloved ones and raped by the officials in prisons. A virgin girl is raped first before execution.
Child labor is permitted and children are working in the most unbearable environment. Many have lost their health due to their jobs. According to Islamic Regime Authorities, over 5 million children have been prevented from attending school and are practically living in streets.
Highlights of above mentioned crimes against children and misery that this regime has caused these children living in Iran gives us the right to request the urgent matter before Secretary-General of the United Nations, BAN KI-MOON, the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights and its senior management group by the international Campaign to close down Iranian embassies, and that is to adopt a resolution to freeze all the bank accounts of the Islamic regimeâs leaders. Much evidence and documentation have come to light showing embezzlement of money belonging to the people of Iran by these leaders. These leaders who have committed state crimes and human rights violations, have pocketed huge amounts of funds into their personal bank accounts in Europe, Canada and other Western countries.
The campaign has only briefly touched upon violations and crimes against women and children. There is much to say about the violation against workers, horrendous crimes against Kurdish people, and oppression against other religions.
To prevent further crimes by Islamic Regime of Iran and to save the lives of the people in Iran, we believe the Secretary-General of the United Nations, BAN KI-MOON, the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights and its senior management group need to act fast. We therefore expect a resolution be adopted by the United Nation to close down all Iranian Embassies for :
Sincerely,
Homa Arjomand
Coordinator of the International Campaign to Closedown Iranian Embassies
I'll gain back all my lost poundage.
Civil Discourse - ERA - A Mother President - Women's Rights - Primary Reform