Discrimination Against Women Continues in Iran
Respect for human rights in Iran has deteriorated even further. According to the latest report from the United Nations, “the Special Rapporteur (the late Asma Jahangir) has observed a worrying picture developing in the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran since the issuance of her last report in August 2017.”
It is important to point out that this is not the first time that the conditions involving human rights violations have deteriorated. For example, the last report of the UN Human Rights Council revealed an alarming and deteriorating situation in Iran in comparison to the year before. Other international bodies in the field of human rights, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have documented a similar negative trend of human rights violations in Iran.
The nature and character of the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses is diverse and multi-dimensional. There are four major categories with a downward trend. The first category is linked to the issue of political and civil rights: This can include freedom of expression and opinion, freedom of association and assembly, and freedom of the press.
Simply voicing one’s opinion against the regime’s policies can bring severe consequences, such as imprisonment, torture, and inhuman, humiliating and degrading punishments, as well as the death penalty. Every human being has the right to be free from such cruel treatment.
The second worsening category is linked to the plight of dual and foreign citizens. The number of dual and foreign nationals being arrested by the Iranian regime has been on the rise. Although every detainee should have the right to a fair trial, such procedure is missing in Iran’s judicial system. The detainees are not allowed access to lawyers, and are faced with trumped-up and ambiguous charges such as “collusion with an enemy state.” This is illustrative of an arbitrary detention and a total lack of due process.