Iran is Booted from United Nations’ Women’s Group

Twenty-nine voted in favor of the resolution, and eight voted against it. Sixteen abstained from the vote.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said removing Iran from the women’s rights group was an “important” move.

“It’s hugely important for the women of Iran,” she told Reuters after the vote.

“They got a strong message from the United Nations that we will support them, and we will condemn Iran, and we will not let them sit on the Commission for the Status of Women and continue to attack women in their own country,” Thomas-Greenfield added.

Women’s rights activist and Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad wrote of the move on Twitter: “This is a victory for Iranian revolutionaries who have been facing guns & bullets as they fight this gender apartheid state.”

Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani spoke before the vote and called the move illegal.

“This illegal conduct might also create a dangerous precedent with far-reaching consequences,” Iravani said.

Meanwhile, other countries are worried that Iran’s removal from the group could be a turning point for trying to remove other countries.

“Even a lot of countries disgusted by Iran’s behavior would have preferred something milder, like temporarily suspending Iran from the CSW,” said International Crisis Group U.N. Director Richard Gowan. “But the U.S. effectively forced other members to get in line by announcing the initiative with very little warning.”

Iran has faced widespread criticism recently after a September incident where a 22-year-old woman died in the custody of morality police after authorities arrested her for allegedly violating the dress code.

Photo courtesy: Pixabay

Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.