Days after a senior Iranian cleric made global headlines by blaming immodestly dressed women as a cause of earthquakes, Iran secured a seat on a United Nations body that proclaims itself "dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women".
Iran's uncontested accession on Thursday to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) - the "principal global policy-making body" on women's rights - went largely unnoticed by international media.
Major news agencies had not even reported the event by the time The National went to press yesterday.
But women's rights activists in Iran and worldwide are furious, dismayed and incredulous: they have written an open letter to the UN opposing Iran's bid for membership of the CSW.
For years, the UN has urged Iran in vain to join the world body's convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.
"Under such conditions, Iran's attempt to join such an institution [as the CSW] is doomed to fail," Shadi Sadr, a leading Iranian women's rights activist and one of the letter's signatories, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - shortly before she was proved wrong.
Many believe that Iran's embrace by the CSW was a cynical compromise by the UN for Tehran's agreement to drop its controversial attempt to win a seat on the UN's Human Rights Council, which has a higher profile.
It is "a denigration of the very principles for which the CSW and the UN stand", said the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), an advocacy organisation dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community.
"It is also indicative of the ways in which women's rights are continually sold down the river in exchange for political favours and horse-trading on other issues at the UN," the NIAC added.
Iranian women do have a socially dynamic role in the country's public life. They outnumber men in Iran's universities and have the right to vote, drive, work alongside men and run for most public offices.
But they do not have equal divorce, child custody or inheritance rights, and a woman's testimony in Iran's Islamic courts carries only half the weight of a man's.
Moreover, since Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, first came to power five years ago, women campaigning peacefully to end discriminatory laws against their sex have been harassed, detained, and some even jailed.
His record on women's rights, already poor, deteriorated sharply after his disputed re-election last June.
Women were on the front-line of the huge street protests that followed, and have a large presence on the country's blogosphere, which they have used to keep up momentum against his election.
The iconic image of last summer's protests was Neda Soltan, a photogenic young student shot dead by a Basij militiaman during a demonstration.
The regime fears the well-organised and energetic activism of Iranian women, viewing their demands for equal rights as inseparable from the opposition's drive for greater democracy.
"In the past year, it has arrested and jailed mothers of peaceful civil rights protesters," the NIAC declared this week.
"It has charged women who were seeking equality in the social sphere ? with threatening national security, subjecting many to hours of harrowing interrogation. "
Women's publications that addressed gender equality have also been shut down.
Iran's seat on the CSW - for a four-year term beginning in 2011 - could not come at a more embarrassing time for the UN. Mr Ahmadinejad this week mocked Iran's UN award-winning family planning policy, insisting that Iranians need to have more children so that it does not end up having an "ageing" population like those in the West.
His recommendation not only makes little economic sense for a country already struggling to provide employment and affordable housing for its overwhelmingly youthful population but, if followed, would confine more women to the home, his opponents say.
"The regime is attempting to erase decades of struggle and progress," the NIAC said.
Meanwhile, as Iran braces for another stifling summer, police chiefs have launched their perennial enforcement of the strict dress code for women.
This year's quirky innovation, reportedly, will be to show little tolerance of women sporting suntans.
@Email:mtheodoulou@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
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If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Handicap (Turf) US$175,000 1,000m
7.05pm: Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions (Dirt) $100,000 1,900m
7.40pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (T) $250,000 1,800m
8.15pm: Handicap (D) $135,000 2,000m
8.50pm: Al Fahidi Fort Group 2 (T) $250,000 1,400m
9.25pm: Handicap (T) $135,000 2,410m.
WIDE%20VIEW
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The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
UAE squad
Rohan Mustafa (captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
The years Ramadan fell in May
