The increasing and systematic repression of women in Iran

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,

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;

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;

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 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 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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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

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.