International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran Statement on Women's Movement

Hadi Ghaemi has a new posting on the women's movement on his new and excellent International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran website. The campaign recently led a statement in support of women's rights for international women's day on March 8 that was signed by Mary Robinson, Vice President of the Club of Madrid and former Irish President and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, former President of Iceland and Member of the Club of Madrid; six Nobel Peace laureates; and hundreds of other leading activists.

Meanwhile, three activists in the Women’s Cultural Center and One Million Signatures Campaign were banned from traveling to participate in international women’s day observances. While I was in Iran, women's rights activists also told me the government would not allow them to hold a meeting on international women's day and were given the reason that it was a religious holiday in Iran. Instead, they were forced to hold a meeting days later, and unfortunately after I had already returned to the U.S.