While Iran is often described as a country with an expansive history, hospitable people and a deep cultural heritage, it is, unfortunately, its nuclear programme which has raised international attention of the Islamic republic and has turned Iran into one of the most widely discussed polities on earth. Following 9/11, Iran was castigated by the US as a ‘sponsor of terrorism' and cornered (together with Iraq and North Korea) as belonging to the ‘Axis of Evil,' and, recently, the enduring US-led sanctions regime was reinforced by the EU's own targeted sanctions, further depleting the country's economic position and, by extension, its political influence. In addition to its nuclear programme, most critics of Iran focus on its attitude towards human rights which invariably includes women rights.
The election of Iran to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) has raised many questions and also some quandaries due to its long-term inconsistent and largely problematic attitude to the rights of women.
Despite the progressive overtures Reza Shah Pahlavi's populist White Revolution regime (1960's) made in the area of women's rights when women were extended some fundamental rights including the right to vote - they gained this right eight years earlier than women in Switzerland - the situation of Iranian women significantly worsened following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Under the zealous regime of the Islamic Republic, ruled de facto by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, all laws increasing social roles and the status of women, such as the right to stand for public office, to divorce, custody rights and reduced polygamy, were diminished and in many cases abolished altogether. The most alarming rights abuse since the 1979 Constitution was the polygamy and stoning right which persists until today.
Apart from the international criticism of the nuclear program and women rights abuse, Iran occupies a central geopolitical place due the country's large reserves of oil, among other natural resources, its economic potential, which, when taken together, could be said to predestine Iran to seek recognition as a prime regional, Caspian Sea, power. In this desire, Iran has found support and gained allies in Russia and China; resulting in the deepening of Iran's political clout and the further extension of its power projections.
Consequently, Western efforts that focus on Iran may be aimed at constraining its actions by undermining its legitimacy and/or locking it into the framework of international institutions of lower political and economical importance and regional organisations. Indeed, Iran's human rights attitudes, its nuclear programme and Ahmadinejad's clearly anti-Western sentiments, when contrasted to its membership in the UNCSW, may be regarded as incompatible and in some ways hypocritical. However, if looked at from an entirely different perspective, allowing Iran to participate in the UNCSW may be a tool meant to increase Iran's engagement to the rest of the international community as an international socialisation device. This engagement and socialisation may, it is hoped, begin the long process of bringing Iran fully into the folds of international politics. In short, electing Iran to a member of the UNCSW might represent an attempt at heightening its international integration.
Regardless of political intentions Iran as a member of the UNCSW may produce some positive effects on women rights in Iran. Women-oriented movements have a long tradition within Iranian society and membership in UNCSW - which is dedicated to gender equality and the general advancement of women - morally supports such movements. On one hand, emphasis on women's issues may be seen in Iran's decision-making when it withdrew its request to join the Human Rights Commission in favour of the UNCSW. On the other hand, that the Iranian government took a proactive attitude towards the rights of women on the international level may be self-serving; as providing cushion against criticisms aimed the fustiness of the Iranian regime. Moreover, this criticism emanates from both, foreign and domestic sources particularly from a growing number of frustrated and progressive Iranian women.
Regardless of the supposed change in the official attitude of the Iranian government, the situation on the ground in Iran does not suggest positive developments related to the rights of Iranian women. Indeed, it is clear that (current) Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Hoseyni Khamenei's opinion about women's movements has not changed since his 2007 criticism of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and he considers the wearing of the hijab (Islamic Head-covering) as compulsory. With a deeply conservative and repressive regime in power, there is little hope among Iranian women that Iran's membership in the UNCSW might significantly affect official policy regarding women. Thus, electing Iran to the UNCSW may be interpreted as politically motivated, meant to assist two political levels: 1. Iranian politicians in their quest to persuade the Iranian public that there are improvements to women rights in the country, and 2. international policy-making in an attempt to keep Iran engaged in international politics with the international community. If this is correct, and Iranian membership in the UNCSW is meant to cast a double-edged political sword, from a Western perspective, it is hoped that the object of such political wrangling - women - are no longer marginalised and used as pawns in an unfolding political game.
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