U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Public Hearing
Religious Freedom and Women’s Rights in Iran
Thursday, January 26, 2023
2:00pm – 3:30pm ET
digital
Summary of the listening to
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) held a digital listening to on non secular freedom in Iran and its influence on girls’s rights.
Since the homicide of Mahsa Zina Amini in September 2022, Iranians have participated in months of protests in opposition to the necessary non secular headband legislation and different restrictions on non secular freedom and different human rights. The Iranian authorities has responded with violence and mass arrests of males, girls, and youngsters. Women and ladies who peacefully protested for non secular freedom have been victims of sexual assault, rape, torture, and homicide in custody.
Iran’s state violence has worsened following many years of systematic, egregious and sustained violations of spiritual freedom. The authorities falsely considers Baha’is to be a “heretical sect” of Islam and has more and more cracked down on the group in current months. Government safety forces have opened hearth on Sunni worshippers leaving mosques, raided Christmas celebrations, performed mass arrests of Yarsanites, and imposed harsh sentences on Gonabadi Sufis. Men who kill girls for violating their household honor have been spared the identical sentences for different kinds of homicide on non secular grounds. Iran additionally continues to make use of faith as a justification for focusing on LGBTQI+ folks, together with the loss of life sentence imposed in 2022 on two activists who defended lesbian girls in Iran.
Iran’s a number of loss of life sentences in current weeks for the religiously based mostly prices of “enmity in opposition to God” and “corruption on earth” pose grave hazard to Iranian prisoners of spiritual conscience and lift credible issues of mass executions within the coming months. Witnesses have documented important non secular freedom violations in Iran through the protests and highlighted coverage choices obtainable to President Joseph R. Biden’s administration and Congress.
Opening remarks
Panel I
Jennifer Gabito, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iran, Iraq and Public Diplomacy on the U.S. Department of State
Panel II
Mr. Javaid Rehman, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the state of affairs of human rights within the Islamic Republic of Iran
Panel III
Marjan Keypour Greenblatt, Founder and Director of the Iranian Minority Rights Alliance
Testimony by Tshika McBean, Human Rights Officer, Baha’i USA Public Information Office
Testimony by Kate Meyer, Litigation Staff Attorney, International Refugee Assistance Project
Written testimony
Witness biographies
Submitted for the report
Statement by Iranian Christian Refugees
The listening to might be open to Members of Congress, Congressional employees, the general public, and media. Media representatives might register on-line and call us by electronic mail. [email protected] For questions or to schedule an interview, please contact Danielle Ashbahian. A video recording of the listening to might be posted on the Committee’s web site. For some other inquiries, please contact Danielle Ashbahian at 911-821-4689. [email protected] Or name us at (202) 702-2778.