European Parliament Condemns Intensified Suppression of Women in Iran as Torture

The European Parliament, in a resolution issued, condemned the deterioration of human rights and the intensified suppression of women in Iran by the Islamic Republic, deeming this trend as a form of 'torture.' The resolution, passed on Thursday, December 8, called on Iranian officials to abolish discriminatory laws against women and girls, and to dissolve the 'morality police' and other repressive institutions. Members of the European Parliament also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all women’s rights defenders and other victims who have been arbitrarily detained, including EU citizens, and urged the Islamic Republic to end the persecution and harassment of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, including Baha'i women. The resolution referenced the treatment of women by Islamic Republic agents, highlighting the arbitrary arrest of Ahoo Daryaee, who removed her clothing in a protest at the university. The European Parliament condemned her arrest, considering her being labeled as ill and held 'in psychiatric detention' as a form of torture. Hannah Neumann, a member of the European Parliament, shared part of her speech regarding the repressive actions of the Islamic Republic regime on social media before the resolution was issued, stating: 'Ahoo Daryaee is not sick; she is a remedy and a symbol of courage and resistance against the repression of the Iranian regime, like many others whose names we do not even know.' In her speech, she referred to the reopening of a clinic for 'treatment' of women who cannot endure mandatory hijab, describing this approach as repression disguised as treatment, and noted that such tactics are not new, referencing the treatment of women in 16th-century Europe. This MEP stated that at that time, inquisition was a tool for accusation and control, and the regime's clinics serve the same role. Neumann added: 'But the real patient here is the Islamic Republic regime, with chronic paranoia, terrified of women who show their hair or sing. The only thing Iranian women suffer from is being tired of a regime that suppresses their freedoms and takes away their future.' The European Parliament also reiterated its previous request to the EU Council to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, and called on the Iranian government to allow unrestricted access for the UN fact-finding mission and the special rapporteur on human rights in Iran. On the same day, the European Parliament issued two other resolutions against human rights violations in Cambodia and Hong Kong.