HRC41 – Side Event – BEYOND THE VEIL: Women’s rights in today’s Iran – recommendations for the UPR
MRG, Ceasefire Center and the Center for Supporters of Human Rights (CSHR), are hosting a side event on women’s rights in Iran, to be held in the margins of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, on Thursday 19 September 2019, from 12:00 to 13:00.
This event is an opportunity for MRG, Ceasefire and CSHR to launch their new report Beyond the Veil: Discrimination against women in Iran, and to share suggestions of recommendations for the UPR of Iran.
Panelists include:
Yakin Ertürk, former UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, who went on official visit to Iran in 2005
Javaid Rehman, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran (video message)
Azadeh Pourzand, Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Impact Iran
Simin Fahandej, Baha’i International Community
Moderator: Miriam Puttick, Minority Rights Group
Women’s rights in Iran have emerged as a major issue of concern for the international community, with violence and discrimination against women being the one topic the most raised by states in the framework of the UPR of Iran.
As the third UPR of Iran is looming, the human rights environment for women in Iran continues to be characterized by inequality and exclusion, despite some progress in areas such as access to education and health care. Iran’s legislation enshrines many barriers to accessing basic rights in areas such as employment, marriage and citizenship. These issues are especially pronounced for minority women, who often face intersectional discrimination on account of their ethnic and religious identity.
This event will be an opportunity to shed light on the current situation of women’s rights in Iran, to look at the permanence of a number of challenges over time, but also at developments and trends documented since the last review. This will also be an opportunity for states to hear suggestions of recommendations, ahead of the UPR of Iran, scheduled for November 2019.