Iran must be removed from the Commission on the Status of Women, demand Joly and Freeland

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland signed an open letter calling on UN member states to vote to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women.

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« In solidarity with Iranian women, we condemn the brutal violence of security forces against peaceful protesters, » said Minister Joly by sharing the open letter on her social networks on Sunday.

The letter was signed by several influential women from around the world, including former U.S. first ladies Laura Bush and Michelle Obama, TV host Oprah Winfrey, Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, and President of the European Central Bank, the Frenchwoman Christine Lagarde.

Iran began a four-year term on the UN Commission on the Status of Women earlier this year. This gathering of 45 states aims to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women around the world.

The signatories of the letter believe that Iran has no place on this committee because of the policies of the Islamic Republic, which severely restricts the rights of women.

The death of an Iranian student, Mahma Amini, after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran has sparked a wave of protest in Iran since mid-September. Protests have since been violently repressed by the regime