What changed

B100186/2024

P10_TA(2024)0052

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on theThe increasing and systematic repression of women in Iran

(2024/2951(RSP))

PE766.502

European Parliament resolution of 28 November 2024 on the increasing and systematic repression of women in Iran (2024/2951(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Rules 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

Whereas women are entitled to full equality under both Iranian law and international human rights conventions;

A. whereas the systematic violations of women’s rights by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its ‘morality’ police have not decreased under President Pezeshkian;

Whereas both domestic and international law guarantees the freedom of assembly;

B. whereas the Iranian Government introduced mandatory veiling in 1983; whereas the ‘protection of the family through promoting the culture of hijab and chastity’ law was approved by the Guardian Council in September 2024 and will further strengthen the government’s suppression of women; whereas women who appear in public without a headscarf are frequently harassed, imprisoned, tortured, and even killed;

Whereas eight special UN rapporteurs have raised concerns over recent alarming increase in the systematic targeting of Baha’i women;

C. whereas Ahoo Daryaei was harassed by security forces at university over a supposed headscarf violation; whereas in a courageous act of defiance, Daryaei removed her remaining clothing in protest and was then detained and, like countless other women, was labelled ‘mentally unfit’ and confined to a psychiatric facility;

D. Whereas article 18 of the UDHR enshrines that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;

D. whereas the Iranian Government announced its intention to open a so-called treatment clinic for women who defy strict hijab laws; whereas the pathologisation of resistance is part of a systematic effort by the Iranian authorities to stifle women’s autonomy and punish those who oppose discriminatory laws such as compulsory veiling and gender segregation;

E. Whereas Iran, as a signatory to the ICCPR, is obligated to respect and ensure the freedom of religion or belief;

E. whereas the 1991 ’Baha’i Question’ memorandum, signed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calls for the ‘progress and development’ of the Bahá’í community to be ‘blocked’; whereas in March and April 2024, at least 72 of the 93 Bahá’ís summoned to court or imprisoned were women;

F. Whereas article 14 of the Iranian Constitution obligates the government to treat all non-Muslims with fairness and justice;

1. Strongly condemns the increasing and systematic repression of women in Iran through laws and regulations that severely restrict their freedoms and rights; deplores the fact that authorities detained Ahoo Daryaei, labelling her ‘mentally unfit’, and committed her to a psychiatric facility; believes that repression of politically defiant women through psychiatric confinement is an act of torture;

G. Whereas Ahoo Daryaei, following Mahsa Amini, has become a symbol of women’s struggle in Iran; whereas after being harassed by Basij militias for not wearing the hijab, she removed her clothes at her university; whereas Iranian authorities committed her to a psychiatric hospital;

2. Calls on the Iranian authorities to repeal all legislation discriminating against women and girls and to urgently abolish the ‘morality’ police and all other repressive agencies;

H. Whereas this Parliament has not adopted a single resolution on Palestinian women since the beginning of the genocide;

3. Strongly condemns the persecution of ethnic and religious minorities; calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all women’s rights defenders and victims of arbitrary detention, including Bahá’ís women Neda Emadi and Parastoo Hakim, as well as EU citizens;

Is particularly worried about the increasing and systematic repression of women in Iran;

4. Reiterates its call on the Council to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, noting that the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court’s ruling on the 2022 Bochum synagogue attack now provides the necessary legal grounds;

Stands alongside women, civil society and all citizens struggling for equal rights, the rights to peaceful protest and expression ;

5. Urges the Iranian Government to grant unrestricted access to the UN Fact-Finding Mission and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran; calls for a renewal and expansion of its mandate to include an accountability mechanism;

Condemns the sentencing of human rights defenders such as Zia Nabavi and Mohammad Habibi, whistle blowers denouncing the poisoning of school girls and demanding accountability; calls for the immediate release of all human rights defenders;

6. Calls on the EU and its Member States to support the Women, Life, Freedom movement;

Calls on Iranian authorities to respect the rights of women to protest and to choose to wear or not to wear religious veils; calls on the authorities to repeal discriminatory laws on governing dress codes ; notes beside that a clear separation of state and religion prevents religious interference in the functioning of government and of any public interference in religious affairs ;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the VP/HR, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and the Office of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Notes with concern that Ahoo Daryae and other critics are sent to psychiatric internment to discredit their dissent, a strategy often targeting women under patriarchal notions of hysteria;

Denounces the systemic persecution of Bahá'ís and other minorities which constitutes a clear violation of Iran’s obligations under international law and its own constitutional principles;

Calls for the release of the group of unjustly detained Bahá'ís women, including Neda Emadi and Parastoo Hakim;

Calls on the Iranian authorities to protect girls’ right to education and protect worker’s rights;

Urges Iran to abolish death penalty and strongly condemn the executions ;

Urges EU Member States to reinforce their humanitarian visas policies to persecuted women and human rights defenders in Iran;

Stresses that further isolating Iran at global level can have detrimental consequences, such as strengthening hardliners of the regimen, further degrading women’s right as well as contributing to nuclear proliferation;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the authorities of Iran, the EU Member States, the Council, the Commission, the HR/VP, the EEAS and the UN.