We the undersigned, representing international women’s groups and activists, human rights organizations and activists, university and academic centers, and social justice initiatives, would like to express our support for Iranian women in their effort to reform laws and achieve equal status within the Iranian legal system.
Change for Equality:
A Call to Action and for Support
The Campaign to Free Bahareh Hedayat
Join us for the Campaign “10 Days with Bahareh Hedayat on the Occasion of March 8th, International Women’s Day”
The Campaign Ten Days with Bahareh, will commence on March 8, and aims to raise awareness about the situation of Bahareh Hedayat, a women’s rights and student rights activist and a founding member of the One Million Signatures Campaign. Each of the ten days will be dedicated to one aspect (...)
Change for Equality: As part of the Campaign, "Ten Days with Bahareh Hedayat" which intends to bring attention to the unlawful imprisonment of this Iranian woman human rights defender who is serving a 10 year prison sentence since December 2009 as a result of her human rights activities, several human rights sent messages of solidarity and urged the Iranian judiciary to take steps to release Hedayat immediately and unconditionally. You can view these messages on facebook:
Amal from Egypt, (...)
Change for Equality: By: Sussan Tahmasebi
The Free Bahareh Hedayat Campaign: Ten Days with Bahareh, was launched today on March 8, 2014 with a beautiful musical tribute by Iranian artist and vocalist Ziba Shirazi. See the video here
In this musical tribute Ziba Shirazi sets to music a poem by the famous poet Houshang Ebtehaj and expresses regret for the continued imprisonment of Bahareh.
The translation of Ziba’s message and song are provided below:
Message: Dear Bahareh, I am sorry (...)
Change for Equality: Unblock Iran a site dedicated to raising awareness about political prisoners in Iran has featured the Case of Bahareh Hedayat on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2014.
Unblock Iran: Today on International Women’s Day, we remember #Feminist Bahareh Hedayat, imprisoned and sentenced to 9.5 years for her commitment to end discriminatory laws against women in Iran.
Instead of being celebrated today, she is in critical condition at Evin Prison. Speak up for her freedom (...)
The elimination of subsidies, the increasing economic sanctions, policies of economic adjustment, privatization, and the increasing growth of parasitic economics have resulted in the closure of many production plants, and the move of the industrial and agricultural production sector toward non-production activities are threating the lives and livelihood of millions of workers and their families in Iran.. The reports of the Economic Commission of the Parliament of the IRI, as reported by (...)
The Iranian authorities must protect all detainees and prisoners from harassment and degrading treatment, Amnesty International said today, after nine female political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, started a hunger strike in response to alleged abuse by prison guards.
The women, who are all held in Tehran’s Evin Prison include activists and journalists. They say they were subjected to humiliating and degrading body searches by female guards from the Prison Security Section (...)
Change for Equality: In a statement addressed to the Head of the Iranian Judiciary, Mr. Sadegh Amoli Larijani, 160 human rights activists from around the world have demanded the release of imprisoned woman human rights defenders Bahareh Hedayat and Maryam Shafiepour. This letter which was written in support of the Campaign “Ten Days with Bahareh Hedayat,” points out the obligations of the Iranian authorities in line with the UN General Assembly Resolution on Woman Human Rights Defenders, (...)
Change for Equality:International women activists and women’s organizations have issued a statement expressing grave concern over the health and wellbeing of ten female prisoners of conscience who started hunger strikes to protest illegal and inappropriate treatment in prison. Two-hundred and seventy five individuals and 22 organizations representing 35 countries, have called for the immediate release of these prisoners of conscience. They have also urged the Iranian authorities to ensure (...)
By: Jila Baniyaghoob, Imprisoned Journalist and Women’s Rights Activist
Change for Equality: Jila Baniyaghoob, women’s rights activist and journalist who is currently serving her one year prison term in Evin prison, has written a letter to her journalist husband, Bahman Ahmadi Amouie, who is serving a 5 year prison term in Rajaee Shahr prison. The following is the translation of Jila’s letter to Bahman.
My dearest Bahman, It has been two months since I last saw you; two months since that last visit at Rajai Shahr prison when I looked at you from behind (...)
Change for Equality:
Translated by: Salman Zia Ebrahimi
The town of Varzaghan, located in the province of Eastern Azerbaijan in Iran, boasts the second highest copper deposits in Iran only after Kerman which has the highest copper deposits in the country. Mining this expensive metal has had no positive effect on the lives and welfare of the people here. The residents of the town of Varzaghan and its surrounding villages were grappling with poverty even before this earthquake. This is (...)
