Petition by “Stop honor Killings” in Iran Campaign
To: Professor Javaid Rehman, Special rapporteur on human rights in Iran
Copy:
His Excellency, Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary General
Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Ms. Dubravka Šimonovic, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
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Every year in Iran, a number of women and young girls are murdered in the most brutal way by male family members under the pretext of preserving their “honor”. The Iranian judiciary system and the lawmakers are indifferent to such murders.
A number of women’s rights activists and gender equality advocates have organized the “Stop Honor Killings” in Iran campaign to put an end to such murders that face little to no punishment. The murder of women and young girls at home in Iran attracts little attention, but in April and May 2020, the pre-planned murder of Romina Ashrafi (14) by her father by an ax and the murder of Reyhaneh Ameri (22) and Fatemeh Barhi (19) found their way into the social media and exposed the extent of the catastrophe of the murder of women and young girls portrayed as protecting the “honor” of family or the tribe.
Articles 301, 302,309, and 630 of the Islamic Penal Code which recognize the right of father and grandfather as head of the family are the foundations of unreasoning prejudice of male family members against women and girls. According to the Islamic Penal Code, the father as head of the family is exempt from a conviction for harm done to the female members of the family.
The campaign “Stop Honor Killings” is urging you as the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran to:
- Demand the replacement of all discriminatory laws against women by laws based on full equality regardless of gender,
- To establish safe houses for women across the country,
- To ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),
- To put into action the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC),
- To revise the contents of educational books on the basis of gender equality and to put an end to the discriminatory language systematically used in the official media.
The campaign “Stop Honor Killings” in Iran
In November 2020, signatures were submitted to Professor Javaid Rehman, Special rapporteur on human rights in Iran.
