Expulsion of Iran from women's body criticized

The removal of Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women based on a US-led campaign is not only unfair and hypocritical, but it also throws the role of the global intergovernmental body into question, experts said.

They believe the move targets the legitimate government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Dina Yulianti Sulaeman, director of the Indonesia Center for Middle East Studies, told China Daily that the United States and its allies who have sponsored the resolution "are practicing double standards".

"When the Black Lives Matter demonstration took place in the US, we saw clear video evidence of police using tear gas, batons, and even hitting unarmed women. Second, regarding allegations of discrimination against women, is the standard of discrimination against women only (based on) the way they dress?" Sulaeman said.

"What about internationally recognized measures, such as the Human Development Index, Gender Inequality Index, literacy rate, education level, health level, job opportunity? Iran has made significant progress according to internationally recognized standards, so there is no reason to exclude Iran from UN Women."

On Dec 14, the 54-member UN Economic and Social Council, or ECOSOC, adopted a US-proposed resolution to ax Iran for the remainder of its 2022 to 2026 term. The members voted with 29 votes in favor, while eight were against it and 16 abstained.

The Iranian parliament's Committee of Women issued a statement, calling the exclusion "cruel" and "political". They said canceling Iran "with a completely political behavior by America and European countries", which they themselves play the biggest role in the exploitation of women and their commodification, is a "heretical and cruel move", Tehran Times reported.

The exclusion also overshadows the UN's existing appeals to remove the US' unilateral and illegal sanctions that the agency said have been harming women's and children's right to health.

The commission's US-proposed resolution "expressed serious concern over the Iranian government's actions" to "continuously undermine and increasingly suppress the human rights of women and girls", and "often with the use of excessive force".

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield called Iran's membership at the time "an ugly stain on the commission's credibility".

But Ahmad Ghouri, director of internationalization at the School of Law, Politics and Sociology at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, told China Daily he is unsure how the removal of Iran will promote the objectives of the UN or that of ECOSOC.

The hijab, or headscarf, Ghouri said, "is central to Islamic faith and very dear to many women in Iran" and many Muslim women around the globe. He added that although a segment of Iranian society is opposed to the imposition of the hijab the way it is implemented by Iran, it does not mean that "women are less empowered than men in Iran".

Arhama Siddiqa, a Middle East expert and research fellow at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad in Pakistan, said Iran's removal was unfair because it seemed targeted toward the government rather than helping the Iranian populace.

"It is undoubtedly further alienating Iran, because it seems to be a mere pressure tactic to make the (Iranian government) bend. Constructive dialogue is the best way forward."