Washington, DC – With Iran’s long record of suppressing women’s rights and lack of protections for crimes against women, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is joining with women’s and human rights activists opposing Iran’s election to the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Senator Gillibrand issued the following statement:
“I strongly condemn yesterday’s election of Iran to a seat on the UN Commission for the Status of Women.
“This Commission was established to promote gender equality and the advancement of women worldwide.
“Allowing Iran to sit on the commission, a nation where gender equality is only a dream and where women are subject to inequality in all aspects of their daily lives, makes a mockery of the commission’s work.
“In a letter signed by 250 Iranian women’s rights activists opposing Iran’s candidacy to the CSW, they say that women have been “arrested, beaten, and imprisoned for peacefully seeking change of laws” affecting them in all aspects of daily life. The letter continues, “the Iranian government will certainly use [CSW membership] to curtail the progress and advancement of women.
“It is outrageous that a country which still stones women will be allowed to have a deciding role on how to better promote gender equality. The United States stands with the women of Iran as they seek the equality and rights they deserve.”