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"One Million Signatures" Campaign: Demanding an End to Discriminatory Laws Against Women in Iran
Read more about the history of the campaign
Iranian women’s rights activists are fighting gender apartheid through the “One Million Signatures” campaign, which aims to collect one million signatures to demand an end to discriminatory laws against women. At present, men have the sole right to divorce and except in special cases, the right to custody of children. One man’s testimony equals that of two women. And certain positions, such as that of a judge, are closed to women. The campaign is a continuation of Iranian women’s century-long struggle for gender equality.
Statement Issued Objecting to Detention of One Million Signatures Campaign Activists
August 5, 2008
| SUPPORT IRANIAN WOMEN |
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Sign the petition and help them reach their goal of one million signatures to end discriminatory laws against women.
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Over 1,000 women’s rights and human rights defenders have issued a statement objecting to the arrest and continued detention of One Million Signatures campaign activists Mahboubeh Karami and Bahareh Hedayat, asserting that their detention is yet another example of the intense pressure imposed upon Iranian women’s rights activists.
Ms. Karami was arrested and beaten by plain clothes security officials on June 13, when a bus she was riding to her home passed by a demonstration with which she was not involved. The unusual circumstances of her arrest, including the unknown affiliation of the arresting officials, remain a cause for concern. Although all others who were arrested with Ms. Karami have been released, she has remained in detention at Evin Prison, where she has yet to be charged with committing a crime or given a reason for her continued detention.
Support Iranian Women on their National Day of Solidarity
June 2, 2008
Iranian women's rights activists are calling for international support in observance of the June 12, 2006 demonstrations. Two years ago on this day, activists organized a peaceful protest demanding the revision of discriminatory laws against women in Iran. Seventy people were arrested during the gathering and continue to this day to be summoned, charged, arrested and sentenced for peaceful activism. June 12th has since been chosen by Iranian women’s rights activists as their national day of solidarity to object harmful actions which attempt to silence Iranian women.
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Sign the "One Million Signatures" campaign petition calling for an end to discriminatory laws against women such as men's uncontested right to divorce, polygamy, and child custody.
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Please read the following "Statement in Support of Iranian Women" and send your personal or organizational support for the women’s rights activists who are fighting for their basic human rights against all odds. Please send emails to wlp@learningpartnership.org and hadighaemi@iranhumanrights.org. For more information about the campaign efforts, please read below or visit the One Million Signatures website.
Launch of the "One Million Signatures" Campaign
February 13, 2007
Iranian women’s rights activists are fighting gender apartheid through the “One Million Signatures” campaign, which demands an end to discriminatory laws against women. At present, men have the sole right to divorce and except in special cases, the right to custody of children. One man’s testimony equals that of two women. A man’s worth is twice that of a woman in cases of murder or bodily injury. A daughter receives half a son’s inheritance. And certain positions, such as that of a judge, are closed to women. The campaign aims to collect one million signatures in support of granting women equal legal status with men. It is a continuation of Iranian women’s century-long struggle for gender equality.
Iran: Challenging the mullahs, one signature at a time
By Maura J. Casey, Editorial Observer
The New York Times
February 7, 2007
"Well-behaved women rarely make history," my favorite bumper sticker says. It surely applies to Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian lawyer and 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner whose relentless campaign against discrimination has enraged the mullahs for more than 25 years.
In a country where the law values a woman’s life at only half the price of a man’s, Ms. Ebadi will not be quiet, and she is urging other women to find their voices. Her newest effort is to help collect the signatures of one million Iranian women on a petition protesting their lack of legal rights.
