Western governments are overlooking Iran's human rights record in their rush to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, activists told The National.
Activists including pro-democracy campaigner Mariam Memarsadeghi and human rights lawyer Kaveh Shahrooz on Monday urged the US not to abandon Iran’s long-suffering women and minority groups.
They spoke of Iran’s recent election to the UN’s top women’s empowerment body and the US State Department’s decision to overlook the treatment of Iranian journalists on World Press Freedom Day on Monday.
“Western democracies are actively appeasing the regime in all kinds of ways,” Ms Memarsadeghi said.
“Today is World Press Freedom Day, and US Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken has singled out a number of countries that violate the rights of journalists and imprison them.
"He has not mentioned Iran, even though freedom of expression is violently repressed in Iran.”
Mr Blinken criticised China, Turkey, Egypt, Russia, Mexico and Afghanistan over killings, detention and harassment of journalists, but neglected Iran, which treats reporters worse, the Committee to Protect Journalists says.
This was no accident, Ms Memarsadeghi said.
Iran was elected last month to the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women for a four-year term starting next year after securing votes from 43 of the 54 member states on the UN’s Economic and Social Council.
“It is akin to electing apartheid South Africa to a commission on the elimination of racism,” Ms Memarsadeghi said.
The ballot was secret but Tehran’s tally showed it gathered support from a handful of the council’s European, North American or Australasian members, said Hillel Neuer, director of campaign group UN Watch.
Mr Neuer said Tehran’s backers were willing to ignore child marriage, "honour killings" and other women’s rights issues in Iran to try to revive the flagging nuclear deal.
Iran ranked 118th out of 167 countries in Georgetown University’s gender-equality ranking.
Diplomats from Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China are in Vienna this week to try to bring Iran and the US back fully into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.
US President Joe Biden is looking to rejoin the pact from which his predecessor Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.
Mr Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran, which responded by breaching many of the deal’s limits on enriched stockpiles.
“Having Iran being part of the UN Commission on Status of Women is part of the price that we're paying,” Mr Shahrooz said.
“The western world is willing to pay any price to preserve good relationships with dictatorships."
Iran's mission to the UN did not immediately answer The National's request for comment.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh, in March rejected a UN criticism of women's rights in Iran, saying Iranian women lived longer, healthier lives and had ever-improving job prospects.
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
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2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
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2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
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2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
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The Sky Is Pink
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Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
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8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
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SQUADS
South Africa:
Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada
Coach: Ottis Gibson
Bangladesh:
Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Results
Catchweight 60kg: Mohammed Al Katheeri (UAE) beat Mostafa El Hamy (EGY) TKO round 3
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Welterweight: Omar Hussein (JOR) beat Yassin Najid (MAR); Split decision
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Sallah Eddine Dekhissi (MAR); Round-1 TKO
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali Musalim (UAE) beat Medhat Hussein (EGY); Triangle choke submission
Welterweight: Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) beat Sofiane Oudina (ALG); Triangle choke Round-1
Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Saleem Al Bakri (JOR); Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ali Taleb (IRQ) beat Nawras Abzakh (JOR); TKO round-2
Catchweight 63kg: Rany Saadeh (PAL) beat Abdel Ali Hariri (MAR); Unanimous decision
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
!['Western democracies are actively appeasing the [Iranian] regime in all kinds of ways,' said Mariam Memarsadeghi, a pro-democracy campaigner. EPA](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/5IH7MDHSAO4QHWWQRMZ44WHWGE.jpg?smart=true&auth=c012af49bd3e83a53003a99a8f314a99395e72341975aa617096f53672a9bcaf&width=800&height=450)
