Iran must end policies and practices “which
amount to total impunity for acts of gender persecution against
women and girls”, a group of experts appointed by the UN Human
Rights Council said on Thursday.
They issued a statement expressing
shock over the death of Armita Geravand, the teenager who
collapsed in the subway in Iran’s capital, Tehran, earlier this
month, allegedly following an altercation about failing to wear a
headdress or hijab.
Ms. Geravand died on Saturday, according to international reports
which cited State media. The experts called for an independent,
prompt and impartial investigation into her death, noting that
the Government maintains that she suffered brain damage from her
fall.
“Women and girls should not be punished for wearing or not
wearing any specific piece of clothing and should certainly not
be at risk of losing their lives for doing so,” they said.
Parallels with Mahsa Amini
Their statement reiterated concerns previously expressed to
authorities in Tehran about the imposition of a dress code on
women and girls, and the use of excessive and unlawful force
against those who do not comply.
This followed the redeployment of Iran’s so-called “morality
police” since the end of July, after the introduction of the
Chastity and Hijab Law, which several UN experts are concerned is
incompatible with the principles of gender equality and other
fundamental freedoms.
“We are dismayed at the parallels between the circumstances of
Jina Mahsa Amini’s death and more recent deaths,” the experts
added.
Ms. Amini, 22, was arrested in Tehran in September 2022 for her
alleged failure to comply with the already strict hijab law and
later died while in custody.
Failure to investigate
The experts also expressed grave concern and disappointment at
the failure of the authorities to conduct independent
investigations into the deaths of women and girls during the
nationwide protests sparked by her death.
“We are aware of reprisals against other women, including
celebrities, for refusing to comply with the mandatory dress
code,” they said.
“Even before the law was passed, there were increasing reports of
women facing legal action for violating the dress code. Some have
lost their jobs or been sentenced to jail, while others have been
ordered to perform forced labour.”
Abolish dress codes
The experts urged the Iranian authorities to amend the
Constitution; repeal existing gender discriminatory laws,
including regulations imposing compulsory dress codes, and
abolish all regulations and procedures whereby women’s dress or
behaviour in public or private are monitored or controlled by
State authorities.
“We remain concerned and alarmed by the ongoing policies and
practices in Iran which amount to total impunity for acts of
gender persecution against women and girls and urge the
Government to put an end to them,” they said.
About UN experts
The experts who issued the statement were Javaid
Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Iran; Morris Tidball-Binz,
Special Rapporteur on
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Reem
Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence
against women and girls, and the members of the Working Group on discrimination
against women and girls.
They receive their mandates from the UN Human Rights
Council and are not UN staff and do not receive payment
for their work.
