European Parliament: Discriminatory Laws Against Women and Girls in Iran Must Be Repealed

Members of the European Parliament condemned the "arbitrary detention of women" in Iran by passing a resolution on Thursday, December 8, and called on the Iranian authorities to repeal "discriminatory laws" against Iranian women and girls. The resolution was adopted with 562 votes in favor, two against, and 30 abstentions, demanding the dissolution of the "morality police" and other "repressive institutions." The European Parliament described the detention of individuals such as Ahoo Daryaee, a student at the Faculty of Science and Research who was sent to a psychiatric hospital, as torture, and called for the immediate and unconditional release of all women’s rights defenders and other victims of arbitrary detentions, including citizens of EU member states. In this context, Hannah Neumann, head of the Iran section in the European Parliament, emphasized that Ahoo Daryaee is "not sick, but a treatment: a symbol of courage and resistance against the repression of the Iranian regime, like many others whose names we do not even know." The resolution also condemned the "harassment of ethnic and religious minorities" in Iran, such as the Baha'is, and stressed the need for the Council of Europe to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. The European Parliament called on the Iranian government to provide unrestricted access to the UN fact-finding mission and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation in Iran. On Wednesday, December 7, the European Parliament had put a proposal for a resolution regarding the increasing and systematic repression of women in Iran on its agenda. This proposal referred to various instances of repression, violence, discrimination, injustice, and human rights violations against women by the Islamic Republic. The proposal's sponsors pointed out the following issues: * Systematic violations of the human rights of women and girls by the Iranian government and its morality police, which have increased since the beginning of President Raisi's term and have not decreased during the presidency of Mohajerani. * The "Promotion of Hijab and Chastity Culture" law was approved by the Guardian Council in September and is being strictly enforced. This repression of women by the Iranian government could lead to gender apartheid. * The Islamic Republic announced its intention to unveil a "treatment" clinic for women who defy strict hijab laws. * Iranian human rights defenders who continue to resist systematic discrimination against women despite harassment, imprisonment, torture, and the risk of death are targeted. The proposal also mentioned Narges Mohammadi, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Jamshid Sharmeh, Mahsa Amini, and many others who have been detained during the "brutal repression" of the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement and are still in prison. The sponsors condemned the worsening human rights situation in Iran, the disproportionate use of violence by the government against protesters, inhumane detentions, torture, and the killings of individuals such as Nasrin Sotoudeh, Jamshid Sharmeh, and Mahsa Amini. They also expressed regret over the Islamic Republic's inhumane use of psychotherapy methods as a tool against protesters like Ahoo Daryaee. Solidarity was expressed with the people of Iran, especially the women participating in peaceful protests despite all existing challenges. They called on the Islamic Republic to immediately and unconditionally release all individuals imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, including Ahmadreza Jalali and Nahid Taghavi. The proposal's sponsors called for an end to the systematic discrimination of the Iranian government against women and girls, mandatory hijab, and the repeal of the law promoting chastity and hijab. They also reiterated their demand to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and called for the expansion of European sanctions against all individuals involved in human rights violations in Iran. During the nationwide protests against the killing of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police, 551 Iranian citizens were killed by the security forces of the Islamic Republic, including 49 women and 68 children. The Islamic Republic has intensified its repression against Iranian women and girls while ignoring the repeated calls from the international community to hold accountable those responsible for the repression during the protests.