Narges Mohammadi's Initiative; A Group of UN Experts Calls for Criminalization of 'Gender Apartheid'

A group of United Nations experts, emphasizing the severe oppression faced by women, especially under regimes like the Taliban, has called for the global criminalization of 'gender apartheid' as a 'crime against humanity'; an initiative previously requested by Narges Mohammadi for examination by the UN. This five-member group of UN experts, including representatives from the United States, China, Mexico, Uganda, and Serbia, states that the time for recognizing gender apartheid as a crime is long overdue and that this form of apartheid is not explicitly defined in international law. Karima Benoun, a professor of international law at the University of Michigan, told Voice of America: 'Gender apartheid is derived from the legal framework of racial apartheid and emphasizes that gender discrimination is deeply rooted in the governing system itself.' These experts are urging the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly to add gender apartheid to Article 2, which discusses the prevention of crimes against humanity and related punishments. According to one of these experts, 'Gender apartheid is not merely a theory or legal structure; it is a real threat and constitutes an objective reality for millions of women and girls around the world.' Narges Mohammadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate currently imprisoned by the Islamic Republic, had previously called for the 'criminalization of gender apartheid' and its recognition as 'one of the manifestations of crimes against humanity' in a message posted on her Instagram account on January 31. In this message, she referred to decades of 'Iranian women's lives under the shadow of the Islamic Republic,' stating that the Islamic Republic has systematically and purposefully advanced a policy of subjugating women using all governmental tools and powers, especially through legislation that deprives women of their human rights. In her latest statement on this matter, she said: 'As a woman witnessing gender apartheid in Iran, not as a document collector for court evidence, but specifically as a woman who has endured this crime against humanity, I declare that with the existence of gender apartheid, sustainable peace is impossible and will be fraught with insurmountable and internal contradictions.' In a message on the occasion of receiving the 'Cinema for Peace Foundation' award in Berlin, which was published on her Instagram account on February 20, she addressed filmmakers, artists, human rights organizations, and politicians, stating, 'Democracy, ethics, freedom, and equality are meaningless in the absence of women enjoying human rights and equality and in a state of dominance, discrimination, and oppression.' Eight UN human rights experts, including Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, described the draft law known as 'Chastity and Hijab' as a form of gender apartheid last September, stating, 'It seems that the intention of the Islamic Republic officials is to govern through systematic discrimination aimed at the complete subjugation of women and girls.' Early in February, media reported the initiation of investigations by a group of British parliament representatives regarding gender apartheid faced by women and girls in Iran and Afghanistan. This investigation, considered the first of its kind in the world according to Forbes, examines the concept of 'gender apartheid or segregation' and how it aligns with the international legal framework. Monthly reports from 'Hengaw' regarding the violation of women's rights in Iran: execution, detention, imprisonment, and flogging.