Nobel Women's Initiative

After nine days in detention, Khadijeh Moghaddam, women's rights activist and member of Change for Equality's One Million Signatures Campaign, was finally released the afternoon of 16 April.

On 8 April, Moghaddam was arrested by Iranian security forces. The forces forcibly entered her home with charges of "spreading of propaganda against the state; disruption of public opinion; and actions against national security." Moghaddam was being detained at Vozara Detention Center, with bail set at 100 Million Tomans (approx. $110,000). She was transfered to Evin prison on 15 April, after her bail was reduced to a third party guarantee.

The Nobel Women's Initiative stands in solidarity with the Iranian women's rights movement. The brave efforts by the One Million Signatures Campaign to defend and advance women's rights in Iran must not be criminalized. We condemn any action by the Iranian authorities aimed at suppressing the women's rights movement.

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In February Parvin Ardalan was awarded the Olof Palme Prize for 2007 for succeeding in making the demand for equal rights for men and women a central part of the struggle for democracy in Iran. Since then the prominent activist has been summoned to court at least three times on various charges.

 

Ardalan was even barred from leaving Iran to travel to Sweden to accept the Olof Palme Prize. She had already boarded the plane when security agents removed her. Authorities confiscated her passport and a travel ban against her remains intact.

Ardalan is a journalist and one of the founding members of the One Million Signatures Campaign, which aims to collect 1 million signatures in support of changing Iran's discriminatory laws against women. In the past, she has been interrogated several times and detained as a result of her writings and activism.

 

 

On 24 April 2007, the Sixth Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced Ardalan to three years imprisonment for collusion and assembly to endanger the national security. The charges stem from a March 2007 arrest while she and other women peacefully gathered in front of the Tehran Revolutionary Court to mark International Women's Day. Her sentence is being appealed.

Read more about charges facing women's rights defenders in Iran.

The Nobel Women's Initiative was honored to have Ardalan participate in "Women Redfining Peace in the Middle East & Beyond," our international women's conference held in May 2007. We congratulate Parvin, and all the brave women of Iran, for your courageous activism!

Photo: Parvin Ardalan at "Women Redefining Peace in the Middle East & Beyond". Courtesy of J. Rand Images, Inc.

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Media:

• Award winning rights activist charged with spreading propaganda, Payvand's Iran News, 9 April 2008

• Int'l Women's Day celebrations on mute, IPS, 11 March 2008

• I'm carrying on, says defiant Iranian woman activist Parvin Ardalan, Monsters and Critics, 10 March 2008

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The Olof Palme Memorial Fund

Press Release
Wednesday February 13th 2008

THE OLOF PALME PRIZE 2007 is awarded to PARVIN ARDALAN

 

Olof Palmepriset 2007 goes to Parvin Ardalan, frontfigure for the Iranian women's movement. Her commitment and insistent work represents a path of democracy and dialogue in a region filled with conflict.

The Olof Palme Prize for 2007 goes to Parvin Ardalan, who has succeeded in making the demand for equal rights for men and women a central part of the struggle for democracy in Iran. As a result, the women's movement for civil rights and liberties has, to a great extent, spread geographically as well as socially. Despite persecution, threats and harassment, Parvin Ardaln has been persistent in her struggle and never compromised her ideals. Through constantly more ingenious methods, she and her fellow sisters have managed to increase the support for equal rights. The ongoing campaign for a million signatures against discrimination is an excellent example. Their intensive work deserves international recognition as a path to democracy and peace in this region of turbulence and conflict.

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For International Women's Day 2008, six women Nobel Peace Laureates of the Nobel Women's Initiative join more than 250 leading women's right advocates and organizations from around the world in a strong show of international support for the Iranian women's movement. In a statement released today by the newly launched International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, the group expressed their concern about the persecution and prosecution of their Iranian colleagues. 

 

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran was launched earlier this week to advocate for human rights and social movements in Iran, provide a platform for their views, and gather international support for all Iranian human rights defenders.

 

The Nobel Women's Initiative endorses the below statement and supports the collective efforts of all human rights defenders in Iran.

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On International Women's Day,

We Stand In Support of Women's Human Rights in Iran

Today, the international community's attention is focused on Iran's nuclear activities and a possible military confrontation between the United States and Iran.  We strongly oppose any military action against Iran that would result in great loss of life and do irreparable harm to the human security of the Iranian people and destabilize this already volatile region for many years to come. At the same time, the Iranian government is exploiting  the international community's preoccupation with the nuclear crisis to further repress peaceful human rights and women's rights activists.  A most recent case in point is the closure of the Zanan magazine, the only remaining independent print medium in Iran focusing on women's issues. 

The Iranian women's rights movement is facing unprecedented obstacles and threats.  On the occasion of March 8, International Women's Day, we express our solidarity with women in their quest for equal rights and an end to pervasive legal discrimination against women.

The government is preventing women from freely celebrating this important day of international solidarity.  The effort to stop expressions of support for women's rights is part of a general denial of basic social and economic rights in Iran.  We call on the Iranian government to remove all restrictions on peaceful assembly and expression as required by the Iranian Constitution, in accordance with Iran's obligations under international human rights treaties.

Iranian women's rights activists have launched several peaceful campaigns for gender equality. Change for Equality, for example, is a grassroots campaign to collect one million signatures asking for Iranian laws to conform with international law requiring non-discrimination based on gender.  The Iranian government continues to harshly persecute (and prosecute) the campaign's activists. Dozens of women's activists have been detained over the past two years and have court cases pending against them. Several have been sentenced to lengthy prison sentences. Security and intelligence forces routinely interrogate, harass, and intimidate campaign activists. We call on the Iranian government immediately to halt repressive actions against women's rights activists and to work together with them to make Iran a place where women and men enjoy equal rights, and a country that upholds international human rights laws and standards.

On this occasion of the International Women's Day, we, the undersigned, herewith express our solidarity with Iranian women and men committed to universal human rights--now, and in the future.   

 

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Media:

• Int'l Women's Day celebrations on mute, IPS, 11 March 2008

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Campaigns for Human Rights in Iran:

• International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
• Change for Equality

 

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International Women's Day:

• 2008 International Women's Day: Investing in Women & Girls

• History of International Women's Day
  

• Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), 52nd Session  - Learn more at PeaceWomen

• WILPF's International Women's Day Disarmament Seminar - At What Cost?: Women, Wars, Weapons and Conflict Prevention

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For more information: 

• Read the latest News on Women's Rights .
• Read about the US-Iran conflict at our Middle East Issue page.
• Also, find out what you can do to support women's rights defenders in Iran.

 

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On 6 March, Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire joined more than 50 female heads of state, ministers, heads of international organizations, business leaders and civil society activists in Brussels for "Women stabilizing an insecure world: An international conference for women political leaders." At the conference Maguire delivered a statement focusing on achieving security and women's empowerment through peace and nonviolence. She concluded, "With a passion for peace and absolute conviction that violence never works, nonviolence does, we can change the world."

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Women: Stabilizing an insecure world 

Statement by Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate

Women as Peacemakers:  A new governance?

My thanks to our host Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner. Women: stabilizing an insecure world is indeed a great challenge. Not only stabilizing the world but transforming it, is the task we face together as an interconnected, interdependent Human Family. One of the many threats is that of violence, whose roots we are aware of. Thankfully, violence, be it individual, structural, or cultural, has been described as a preventable disease' by the World Health Organization. To cure it we need to transform our Culture of Violence to a Culture of Nonkilling, Nonviolence and Peace. Last year, the Nobel Peace Laureates launched a Charter for a world without violence'. This Charter sets out 13 principles which when implemented by World Bodies and Governments will help build this new culture.  The 13th Principle of the Charter calls upon all to work together towards a just killing-free world in which everyone has a right not to be killed and a responsibility not to kill each other.

Women play a crucial role in this building of a nonkilling world. We can unambiguously reject the use of violence in all its forms, insisting violence is never acceptable and there are always alternatives. Disarming our own mindsets from violence, militarism, and war, and deepening our compassion, wisdom and inner peace enables us to be peacemakers in our home, communities, and world.   

Women can bring a new spirit and vision by insisting people, not profit, should be put first and this will happen when we all move beyond nationalism, tribal politics, and our own narrow interests, putting our common humanity above all that divides us. Mothers can change the world by encouraging their children not to join Armies, but rather use alternative means to uphold Human rights and conflict resolution.  

One of the causes of destabilization in our world, especially since 11 September, 2001, is the Foreign Policies of the American government. These policies of military invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, Iraq, and the war on terrorism' with its subsequent abuse of Human rights have only added to the fear and insecurity felt by many. This has been particularly destructive to the Muslim communities, who have been demonized and marginalized by such Policies.  These policies must be reversed to help stabilize our world. There are steps to sanity: End the occupation of Afghanistan, and Iraq. Abolish Nuclear weapons.   Israel should end the siege of Gaza and occupation of Palestine, and talk to its enemies. The American Administration should talk to Iranian leaders and solve their problems through dialogue and negotiations.   

At a conference on women peacemakers, an activist and former Member of Parliament of Afghanistan maintained that investments in civil society at large and women in particular are a better solution for her country than foreign military missions. The words of this Afghani woman are words of wisdom and guidance as we  together search for more civilized and successful ways of problem solving, than militarism, war and nuclear weapons. With a passion for peace and absolute conviction that violence never works, nonviolence does, we can change the world.

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Media / Conference Information:

• Women stabilizing an insecure world conference webpage, 6 March 2008

• Conference Final Statement
• Press Release, 4 March 2008

 

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On Tuesday, 28 January 2008, Iran's Press Supervisory Board revoked Zanan magazine's publishing license.  Zanan, which means women in Persian, has been the leading voice for women's issues in Iran for the past 16 years. The Nobel Women's Initiative stands in solidarity with the courageous women of Zanan magazine and urges Iranian authorities to restore Zanan's publishing license.

As of 12 February 2008, almost 120 prominent academics and activists, including Nobel Laureates Betty Williams, Jody Williams, Mairead Corrigan Maguire and Dr. Shirin Ebadi, have endorsed the following letter, sent on 10 February 2008 to President Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials.

                                                                                                         Zanan

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February 10, 2008

This letter is addressed to the following:

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Islamic Republic of Iran
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, Head of the Judiciary of IRI
Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Dr. Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, Speaker of the Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran

C/O H.E. Mohammad Khazae, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

Fax: 212-867-7086

We the undersigned are deeply dismayed to hear that the publishing license of the monthly magazine Zanan has been revoked by the Press Supervisory Board.

For the past 16 years, Zanan has been an important voice reporting on issues that Iranian women face - their problems as well as their achievements. It has also been an indispensable forum for encouraging dialogue among those genuinely interested in solving broader social problems. Its sustained coverage of women's lives in Iran has allowed a balanced international understanding of Iranian society. Revoking Zanan's publication license deprives all Iranians a vital source on women's issues and closes one more journal at a critical moment of the country's life.

We are extremely disturbed by this revocation by a body that constitutionally does not have the authority to revoke the license of any publication. We ask for its immediate withdrawal, and reconstitution of publishing permit for Zanan. The revocation of Zanan's permit stands in violation of the right to free expression and is, as such, unacceptable by any standards.

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If you would like to add your name to this letter, please send an email with your name, title and affiliation to Zananmagazine@yahoo.com.

 

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and his hard-line allies rail against the United States and other external enemies, but who they really fear are their own citizens...The order to close Zanan, which means women, is the latest outrage and a sign of how much Mr. Ahmadinejad and the mullahs fear any debate. It should be reversed immediately. - Editorial, Shutting down Zanan

Media:

• Shutting down Zanan, The New York Times, 7 February 2008

• Zanan women's magazine ordered to close after 16 year, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML), 31 January 2008
  

• Commission bans leading feminist magazine, Reporters Without Borders, 30 January 2008

• Zanan, a voice of women, silenced in Iran, Los Angeles Times, 29 January 2008

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In an effort to intimidate feminist activists, the government in Nicaragua, in collaboration with right wing groups, has charged 9 renowned women's human rights defenders with criminal violations for their work. The women, notorious for their defense of women's rights, have a long history of struggle in favor of freedom, justice, democracy and socioeconomic development  in Nicaragua.

They are being persecuted for crimes of omission surrounding the controversial case of Rosita, a 9-year-old girl who was raped, became pregnant, and received a therapeutic abortion, a form of abortion outlawed in Nicaragua in 2006. Read the Nobel Women's Initiative statement of solidarity for our Nicaraguan sisters below.

"We call all women's and other civil society organizations to mobilize against this repressive action of political terrorism and to defend the rights and freedom of our compañeras." ( Patricia Orozco, Regional Coordinator of the September 28th Campaign, which aims to liberalize punitive abortion laws in Latin America and the Caribbean in the interests of public health, respect for human rights, and recognition of women's citizenship)

  Nobel Women's Initiative Statement of Solidarity

As women Nobel Laureates, we express our deepest solidarity with the nine women rights leaders who have been accused of criminal acts and threatened with prison sentences by the Nicaraguan government for their important work in defense of women's reproductive rights and in defense of victims of rape and sexual violence.  We are gravely concerned by this attempt to silence the critical voices for democracy and peace of leaders of the Nicaraguan women's movement as they bring to light the most egregious private crimes of incest, rape and sexual abuse that implicate key leaders in government.

On November 22, the Nicaraguan Attorney General's Office received instructions to
prosecute the women for supposed crimes of omission surrounding the controversial case of Rosita, a 9-year-old girl who was raped, became pregnant, and received a therapeutic abortion. Therapeutic abortion, when the life of the mother is endangered, was outlawed during the electoral campaign in 2006 in order to gain favor with conservative religious constituencies.  We perceive this prosecution not only as an attack against these nine women, but also as a means to damage the credibility of women's organizations that have bravely denounced crimes of violence and sexual abuse for many years.

Below are the 9 women we are committed to supporting:

1. Ana Maria Pizarro, member of the Regional Coordination of the September 28 Campaign for the Decriminalization of Abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean
2. Juanita Jiménez, (until recently) responsible for Advocacy at the Network of Women Against Violence
3. Lorna Norori, psychologist
4. Luisa Molina Arguello, spokesperson for the Federation of NGOs working with Children and Adolescents
5. Martha Maria Blandón, from the Sexuality, Maternity and Rights Forum and IPAS Central America
6. Martha Munguia, director of the Women Action Now Center
7. Mayra Sirias, current spokesperson of the Network of Women Against Violence and member of its coordinating body
8. Violeta Delgado, former Executive Coordinator of the Network of Women Against Violence
9. Yamileth Mejia, (until recently) responsible for Political Training at the Network of Women Against Violence

These activists also played an important role in speaking out about the alleged sexual abuse of Zoilamérica Narváez by her step-father, Daniel Ortega, the current President of Nicaragua.

We join with the broad array of leaders and organizations world wide in solidarity with our Nicaraguan sisters.

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For more information:

www.DefendingWomen-DefendingRights.org - Action Alert for Nicaraguan Women

Autonomous Women's Movement  (MAM)

Read Over Their Dead Bodies, a 2007 report by Human Rights Watch that reports Nicaraguan women's health and lives are being put at risk by the country's blanket ban on abortions.

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Demanding Implementation, Challenging Obstacles: End Violence Against Women

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (25 November - 10 December) is an international campaign originating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991. Participants chose the dates, 25 November, International Day Against Violence Against Women and 10 December, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including 29 November, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, 1 December, World AIDS Day, and 6 December, which marks the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. (Center for Women's Global Leadership)

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The Nobel Women's Initiative supports our sisters in Costa Rica who are courageously fighting for gender equality, the foundation of peace and democracy.  We especially commend the work of the Women against the Free Trade Agreement (Mujeres contra el TLC) for their growing mobilization of the citizens of Costa Rica in opposition to the ratification of CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement).  An estimated 1000 women participated in a day of action, which was appropriately named The Power of No, on Saturday, 29 September.  Among the activities was a space for dialogue, which was specially created as a means to distribute information regarding the Referendum on CAFTA, which will take place 7 October 2007.

 

Banner of Dreams captures 'dreams of a better Costa Rica'

 

For more information on the national women's day against CAFTA, go to:
The power of No: Costa Rican women adding power to the No, Feminist International Radio Endeavor FIRE, 14 September 2007

Nobel Women's Initiative statement of solidarity with the Women Against CAFTA

 

(excerpt) As women Nobel Laureates, we express our firm solidarity with the women of Costa Rica who on many occasions have affirmed their collective commitment to democracy, gender equality and peace . We are inspired by women's courageous and powerful role in the growing citizen mobilization for democracy and wellbeing. We find these struggles particularly hopeful in a global context where violence and discrimination against women is growing.

We renounce violence in particular violence that targets women as women. The everyday actions that women take to lead their lives with dignity and security encourage us, and we wish to help ensure that their rights and the rights of their communities are respected and upheld. We recognize and stand with the women activists who suffer threats and persecution for their work to build a more just and equitable society.

We are inspired by the extraordinary levels of organization and leadership among Costa Rican women who have come together to support the struggle against CAFTA. We also congratulate our sisters on the recent victories: These advances are the product of their collective commitment and courageous mobilization. Across the Americas we have seen severe setbacks for women's rights, yet their persistence and their achievements give us hope and inspiration to continue our own struggles.

Download the pdf of this statement in English here.
Download the pdf of this statement in Spanish here.

Update: On October 7, a national referendum in Costa Rica voted to ratify CAFTA. Mujeres Contra el TLC are refusing to accept the results and have announced their intention to continue their struggle.

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Update:
9 July 2007

Student Activists Detained
More Harsh Sentences for Women Activists in Iran

(30 April 2007) Iranian Women Activists Sentenced
(20 April 2007) Activists Sentenced to Prison for "Threatening National Security"
(18 April 2007) Two Activists Released; 11 Others Summoned to Revolutionary Court
(13 April 2007) Condition of Imprisoned Members of the Campaign

(9 April 2007) Mahboubeh Hossein Zadeh and Nahid Keshavarz, two members of the One Million Signatures Campaign, were arrested on Monday, 2 April 2007, while collecting signatures in support of a petition to change discriminatory laws against women. Read the Human Rights Watch statement calling for the activist's release for more information. In addition, the One Million Signatures Campaign has issued an open letter signed by more than 1000 political, social and cultural activists in objection to the arrest of two women activists.

(20 March 2007) Iranian Women's Rights Activists Released
(15 March 2007) Offices of Two Remaining Prisoners Shut Down by the Revolutionary Court
(12 March 2007) Two Women Remain in Custody
(8 March 2007) All But 3 Women Activists Freed on International Women's Day

(5 March 2007) More than 32 women were arrested on Sunday, March 4th, and charged with endangering national security, propaganda against the state and taking part in an illegal gathering. The women were protesting outside a courthouse in Tehran to demand a fair trial for five prominent women's rights activists arrested last June during a peaceful protest in support of women's rights. The June protest turned violent as police used force to disburse the crowd and arrested over 70 people. Mirroring the former protests, those in attendance on Sunday have given appalling reports of police brutality as well.

Four of the five women on trial - Nusheen Ahmadi Khorasani; Parvin Ardalan; Sussan Tahmasebi; Shahla Entesari; and Fariba Davoodi Mohajer left the courtroom in support of the demonstrations taking place and were promptly arrested along with their lawyer.

These latest arrests signal yet another crackdown on rights activists in Iran. Last month three journalists and women's rights activists were detained without charge while on their way to India to participate in a journalism workshop.

To Take Action click here.

For photos and short biographies of some of the women who were arrested click here.


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For more information visit :

Mass Arrest Signals New Level of Repression Human Rights Watch, 7 March 2007

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Concerned Over Arrest of Women Activists in Iran United Nations press release, 6 March 2007

Iranian Women Are Arrested After Protests Outside Court New York Times, 6 March 2007

Activists Arrested Ahead of International Women's Day Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 5 March 2007

Arrests of Women May Be an Attempt to Prevent International Women's Day Calls for Equality Amnesty International, 5 March 2007

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As women Nobel Laureates, we express our firm solidarity with the women of Oaxaca as they are joined by hundreds of women who have traveled from across Mexico and the world for a Gathering of Women in Resistance (April 26-28). They gather against the threat of violence and with the silent support of many Mexicans concerned about the state of their country to boldly speak out against state-sponsored repression in their city and affirm their collective commitment to democracy, gender equality and peace.

Following months of massive protests in late 2006 for the ouster of Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, Governor of the state of Oaxaca protests often accompanied by extreme police violence and state repression Oaxaca is now largely absent from international media coverage. Yet we know that the struggle for open, transparent democracy and human rights persists; as do the concerns about continued budget cuts to education and basic services and increasing poverty that initially drove thousands of Mexican women and men to the streets late last year. After refusing to meet with members of the teachers union or respond to their demands, Ulises Ruiz sent in state riot police on June 14, 2006, resulting in scores of injuries. Thousands took to the streets to support the protestors. Women were actively organizing over the following months, culminating in a women-only Pots and Pans March on August 1, 2006. That march concluded with a take-over by women of the state-owned television station, Channel 9. Frustrated with the lack of accurate media coverage of the June protests and ensuing state repression, the women were able to go on the air radio and television to tell their story. We are inspired by women's courageous and powerful role in the growing citizen mobilization for democracy and wellbeing.

We express grave concern for the response by the Mexican government to the peaceful actions and demands expressed by its citizens, particularly in light of the highly contested presidential elections, which mobilized millions of Mexicans in the streets to demand fair and transparent vote counting. A widely-reported deepening culture of corruption and impunity among public officials threatens the fragile democracy of this important country.

We find these trends particularly worrisome in a context where forms of violence against women are growing more crude, extreme and pervasive. Violence that was, at one time, seemingly a series of isolated, sensationalized incidents, is now becoming so common place as to be labeled femicide. Such widespread and systematic murder of women is not just in Ciudad Juarez, but in other parts of Mexico and other countries of the region.

The repression against women in Oaxaca was on the heels of the violence perpetrated against women of the community San Salvador Atenco. There, 190 people (43 of them women) were detained by the police following a conflict between local flower vendors and municipal authorities in a nearby community. Detainees faced severe beatings from police, however the women were specifically targeted for rape, and other forms of sexual assault and threats.

We renounce violence in particular violence that targets women as women. We want to hold up the everyday actions that women take to lead their lives with dignity and security, and to help ensure that their rights and the rights of their communities are respected and upheld. We recognize and stand with the women activists who suffer threats and persecution for their work to build a more just and equitable society.

We are inspired by the extraordinary levels of organization and leadership among Mexican women who have come together to support their Oaxacan sisters in a painful struggle. We applaud the important victories of our Mexican sisters in our collective efforts for peace and against private and public violence. We also congratulate our sisters on the recent legislative victories: December 19th, 2006 was the passage of the General Law of Access by Women to a Life Free of Violence, and on April 24th of a critical change to the Criminal Code of Mexico City that disallows the prosectution of women who have an abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. These advances are the product of their collective commitment and courageous mobilization. When across the Americas, we have seen severe setbacks for women's rights, their persistence and their achievements give us hope and energy to continue our own struggles.

We stand with you today.

Go to Feminist Radio International Endeavor to read and hear more about the Oaxaca meeting.

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