UN Rapporteurs Condemn Harassment Against Baha'i Women in Iran

Eighteen UN rapporteurs and experts condemned the targeting of Baha'i women by the Iranian government in a joint letter. This group of UN rapporteurs and experts highlighted the intensified harassment against Baha'i women in Iran, emphasizing that these women face compounded oppression due to their gender and Baha'i faith. The authors of the letter described the Iranian government's actions against Baha'i women as 'systematic,' citing instances of arrests, summons for interrogation, disappearances, home searches of Baha'i women, confiscation of property, travel restrictions, and prolonged detentions of these women. The UN experts also expressed concern about the ongoing criminalization of freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression and opinion, and the right of Baha'i religious minority members to participate in various aspects of their cultural community life by the Iranian government. The signatories of the letter called for immediate action from the Iranian government and the immediate release of all Baha'i women, emphasizing that prisoners should receive urgent and complete medical care and that mechanisms should be established to hold violators of Baha'i women's rights accountable. This letter was written six months ago to the Islamic Republic authorities, but since the deadline for the Iranian government's response passed without any reply to the UN experts, it was publicly released on November 1. The writing of this letter by these eighteen human rights rapporteurs follows the publication of two reports by the UN fact-finding committee on Iran, which provide detailed accounts of the repression of Baha'i women and, more broadly, all Baha'is in Iran by the Iranian government. These reports identify Baha'is as the 'most persecuted religious minority in the Islamic Republic of Iran' and emphasize that since the protests of 2022, incidents of hate speech against Baha'is and the harassment and repression of Baha'i women have significantly increased. The UN special rapporteurs and members of its working groups are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate, monitor, and report on specific cases of human rights violations around the world. These experts are tasked with missions related to women's and girls' rights, freedom of religion or belief, peaceful assembly, education, freedom of expression, and many other topics. They also have special missions concerning countries like the Islamic Republic of Iran, which have serious human rights concerns. The Baha'i International Community reported last December that Iranian security forces had arrested '40 Baha'is' two months prior and searched 'the homes of nearly one hundred Baha'i families' in various cities across Iran. In May of this year, the Isfahan Revolutionary Court sentenced 15 Baha'i women to a total of 75 years in prison for 'promoting' Baha'i beliefs. Despite the presence of 300,000 Baha'is in Iran, the Islamic Republic does not recognize the Baha'i faith, and Iranian officials have repeatedly labeled Baha'is as 'spies and enemies,' issuing numerous death sentences, arrests, imprisonments, and prohibitions on education and employment, as well as demolishing homes and cemeteries of followers of this faith over the past four decades.