Ansieh Khazali Meeting with Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women: The Expulsion of the Islamic Republic from this Commission was 'Unjust'

Ansieh Khazali, the Deputy for Women's Affairs of Ebrahim Raisi, who is in New York, described the expulsion of the Islamic Republic from the Commission on the Status of Women as 'unjust' during a meeting with the Chair of the 68th session of the Commission. The state-run news agency IRNA reported on Thursday, March 15, that Khazali told 'Antonio Manuel Ruela Lagdameo' that the cancellation of the Islamic Republic's membership in the UN Women’s Commission was 'against the commission's procedures' and that if membership were to be revoked, Israel would be more deserving of such an action. According to IRNA, the Deputy for Women's Affairs of the 13th President of the Islamic Republic also claimed during this meeting at the UN that the Islamic Republic has not only taken unique actions for Iranian women and girls but has also provided countless services for Afghan migrants. Khazali's trip to the US and her presence at the UN come after the Islamic Republic was expelled from the UN Women’s Commission in late December 2022 following the crackdown on the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement and widespread protests against it. While this official of the Islamic Republic is trying to return to the Women’s Commission at the UN, the UN Human Rights Council’s fact-finding committee condemned 'institutional discrimination against women and girls' in Iran in a report on March 9, deeming it a 'violation of human rights and a crime against humanity in the context of the protests of 2022.' The US Commission on International Religious Freedom also called for the Islamic Republic's case to be referred to the International Criminal Court on March 14, citing UN experts' reports that classified the crackdown on the 2022 protests as a crime against humanity. The spokesperson for the US State Department also described human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran as 'horrific and concerning' on Thursday, March 15, stating that the Biden administration is strongly inclined to extend the work of the fact-finding committee and the mission of the UN Human Rights Council's rapporteur on Iran for another year. Protests against Khazali's presence at the UN and her speech in conversation with Nazila Golestaneh were noted amidst the ongoing protests against a cleric filming a 'Qom mother'; Khazali stated in New York that hijab is an accepted issue in Iran. The trip of the Deputy for Women's Affairs of Ebrahim Raisi to New York for a speech at the UN Women’s Commission has raised warnings from a principlist newspaper regarding the confrontation 'between people and people,' suggesting that more unpleasant events should be anticipated. In the midst of protests against a cleric filming a 'Qom mother,' Khazali stated in New York that hijab is an accepted issue in Iran. The narrative from 'Khorasan' reported a local statistic indicating that divorce requests by women are five times those of men. On the anniversary of Mahsa, Canada imposed further sanctions against officials of the Islamic Republic, with Raisi's deputy and minister included in the sanctions list.