Cross-party MPs, Peers and women’s rights activists from the UK and Ireland are scheduled to take part in an online conference on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2021, where they will call on the UK government to demand the release of female prisoners of conscience in Iran.
They will urge the UK government to centre its Iran policy on the issue of human rights, particularly women’s rights.
Reuters reported on 23 December 2019 that 400 women activists were killed in Iran during less than two weeks of nationwide protests in November 2019. According to other reports, 114 women have been executed in Iran during the tenure of President Hassan Rouhani.
Discrimination against women is institutionalized by the ruling theocracy and women are deprived of some of the most rudimentary rights like choosing their clothes. A network of 27 state agencies enforce the mandatory Hijab, including 10 ministries. Women are imprisoned and physically punished for the smallest infraction of stringent rules. The double suppression of women is central to the regime’s domestic repression and serves as a means to silence any voice of dissent, especially today as Iran stands on the brink of change amid growing popular dissent and popular protests across the country.
Partial list of Panellists
• Rt Hon. Theresa Villiers MP
• Baroness Verma
• Baroness Harris of Richmond DL
• Baroness Eaton DBE DL
• Jennifer McNeil TD
• Senator Catherine Noone
• Rt Hon. David Jones MP
• Professor Lord Alton of Liverpool
• Sir David Amess MP
• Bob Blackman MP
• Steve McCabe MP
• Rt Hon. Sir Roger Gale MP
• Representatives of the NCRI.
Source » scoop