Ett krav framförs att Iran ska  röstas bort från den grupp som nu
leder CSW, Commission on the Status of Women, den 14 december. Brevet
har undertecknats av mer än 100000 personer och organisationer,
däribland Östersjöfred. Läs hela brevet här:

OPEN LETTER ON IRAN
An Open Letter from Global Women Leaders & Advocates
Urging UN Member States to Heed the Call of Iranian Women and Remove the
Islamic Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women

In solidarity with Iranian women and girls who are courageously
demonstrating for their fundamental human rights, we condemn the brutal
violence of security forces against peaceful protesters and echo Iranian
women leaders’ call for United Nations Member States to immediately remove
the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) from the Commission on the Status of
Women (CSW).

A rising toll of protesters, including children, have been killed by
Iranian authorities since nation‑wide protests triggered by the tragic
death of 22 year old Mahsa Jina Amini who was arrested and detained by
Iran’s ”morality police” for failing to properly cover her hair and later
died in police custody.

Earlier this year, to the dismay of women’s rights advocates around the
world, Iran began a four‑year term on the UN’s 45‑member Commission on the
Status of Women. This preeminent global body is exclusively dedicated to
promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s long‑standing, systematic oppression of
women should have disqualified them from election to the CSW. For decades,
gender inequality and discrimination against women have been legally
enshrined in Iran. Under Iran’s Penal Code and other laws and regulations,
Iranian women’s rights are severely restricted in marriage, divorce,
inheritance and custody. They must comply with the IRI’s mandatory hijab
laws from the onset of puberty.

Because of the Islamic Republic’s appalling record on women’s rights, and
in light of the regime’s ongoing, brutal crackdown on protesters, we insist
that Iran’s membership to the CSW be revoked. For every day that Iran
remains a member of the Commission on the Status of Women, the body loses
credibility.

Member States who sit on the CSW have a duty to uphold its mandate and
defend the very values they claim to support. We urge these members to come
together in an act of solidarity with Iranian women and girls and heed
their call to immediately remove Iran from the CSW.

Women‑led protests across Iran have been met with extreme violence. And
yet, Iranian women and girls, and their allies, bravely persist. We support
their struggle for fundamental freedoms and call for an immediate end to
state violence and the safe release of thousands of detained citizens.

This is a critical moment for leaders in the international community to
vocally and unequivocally demonstrate their support for women’s rights by
standing in solidarity with Iranian women and girls.
Zan. Zendegi. Azadi.
Jin, Jiyan, Azadi.
Woman, Life, Freedom.

Signed in Solidarity by

– Margaret Alva
Former Governor of Rajasthan, India
– Dr. Amani Ballour
Women and Children’s Rights Activist, Syria
– Cherie Blair
Barrister & Writer, U.K.
– Laura Bush
Former First Lady, U.S.
– Kim Campbell
19th Prime Minister, Canada
– Hillary Rodham Clinton
Former Secretary of State, U.S.
– Shirin Ebadi
Nobel Peace Prize laureate, U.S.
– Dr. Oby Ezekwesili
Economic & Political Leader, Nigeria
– Christiana Figueres
Former Head of U.N. Climate Change Convention, Costa Rica
– Chrystia Freeland
Deputy Prime Minister, Canada
– Leymah Gbowee
Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Liberia
– Julia Gillard
27th Prime Minister, Australia
– Dalia Grybauskaite
Former President, Lithuania
– Hina Jilani
Human Rights Activist, Pakistan
– Mélanie Joly
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canada
– Christine Lagarde
Economic & Political Leader, France
– Graça Machel
Activist & Former First Lady, Mozambique & South Africa
– Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Former Executive Director of U.N. Women, South Africa
– Nadia Murad
Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Iraq
– Michelle Obama
Former First Lady, U.S.
– Zainab Salbi
Humanitarian, Iraq
– Gloria Steinem
Author, U.S.
– Melanne Verveer
First US Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues, U.S.
– Alice Walker
Writer, Poet & Activist, U.S.
– Oprah Winfrey
Philanthropist, U.S.
– Malala Yousafzai
Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Pakistan
– Jacinda Ardern
Prime Minister, New Zealand
– Alyse Nelson
President & CEO, Vital Voices Global Partnership
– Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Former President of Liberia
– Mahnaz Afkhami
Former Minister of Women’s Affairs, Founder of Womens Learning
Partnership
– Mehrangiz Kar
Iranian lawyer, women’s rights defender & author
– Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg
Activist & Mayor of Frankfurt Germany
– Azar Nafisi
Writer and activist
– Roya Boroumand
Executive Director, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center
– Ladan Boroumand
Historian & human rights activist
– Sharan Tabari
Journalist
– Azadeh Pourzand
Co‑founder and director, Siamak Pourzand Foundation
– Nazanin Boniadi
Actor and activist
– Nazanin Afshin-Jam
Human rights activist and author
– Nazanin Nour
Actor and activist
– Gissou Nia
Human rights lawyer
– Yasmine Chubin
Legal advocacy director, Clooney Foundation for Justice
– Golineh Atai
Journalist
– Sepideh Moafi
Actor and activist
– Mozhan Marno
Actor and activist
– Tala Ashe
Actor and activist
– Nasim Pedrad
Actor and activist
– Peggy Clark
CEO & President, International Center for Research of Women
– Mandana Dayani
Activist and entrepreneur
– Gola
Singer and activist
– Shadi Sadr
Human rights lawyer
– Patricia Ellis
President & Founder, Women’s Foreign Policy Group
– Lois Romano
Co‑Chair, Women’s Foreign Policy Group
– Kristi Rogers
Co‑Chair, Women’s Foreign Policy Group
– Diane von Furstenberg
Philanthropist & businesswoman
– Atena Daemi
Human rights activist
– Maryam Shafipour
Human rights activist
– Azam Jangravi
Women’s rights activist
– Necar Zadegan
Actor and activist
– Sepideh Mehraban
Artist
– Shirin Towfiq
Artist
– Sheida Soleimani
Artist
– Shirin Neshat
Artist
– Aphrodite Désirée Navab
Artist
– Saman Oskouei
Artist
– Sasan Oskouei
Artist
– Hank Willis Thomas
Artist

And a movement of 109,637 and
counting..