Maryam Rajavi at the International conference on the occasion of International Women’s Day – Paris
Thus, neither Khatami nor Rouhani who launched a charm offensive of reform and moderation, do not get close to easing the oppression and subjugation of women
Mullahs have turned Iran into the epicenter of fundamentalism, but the people and their resistance have turned it into the epicenter for the ideal of equality and liberation from fundamentalism; and ultimately, women will overcome the religious dictatorship in Iran
On Saturday, March 1, participants in an international conference in Paris on the occasion of the International Women’s Day warned of the role of the Iranian regime in spreading the Islamic fundamentalism throughout the region and the globe.
The conference was held at the presence of Maryam Rajavi and a great number of prominent political and social figures and artists, as well as human rights and women’s rights activists from five continents and delegations representing dozens of Iranian women’s associations and organizations throughout Europe and the United States.
The speakers underscored that misogyny is one of the principal and unchangeable aspects of the religious fascism ruling Iran that has only worsened in three decades. During the Presidency of Rouhani, the misogyny of the regime remains unchanged. They added that women are twofold the victims of the illusion of moderation in a regime that misogyny is intertwined with its mindset and practice.
Speakers underlined that this regime is the central banker of terrorism and fundamentalism in today’s world threatening the global security and peace. They added that confronting this threat demands a firm policy not just in the nuclear negotiations, but also in the face of savage and systematic misogyny and the barbaric violation of human rights in Iran, as well as against destructive warmongering that has drenched the region in blood.
In this conference that was inaugurated by Ms. Sarvnaz Chitsaz, Chair of Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the speakers stressed: In the very volatile situation surrounding the Islamic countries, women’s rights has been one of the main challenges that is always threatened and aggressed against. Therefore, support for the broad front against fundamentalism where the movement of the Iranian Resistance led by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi plays a decisive role, is a historical exigency both for the equality movement and for securing global peace and security. Women are the principal force and dynamism in this front.
Addressing the conference Maryam Rajavi said: Indeed, the ideal of equality is alive, but not just because of depravations, humiliations and oppression; rather, because a generation of women has arisen to overthrow dictatorships in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Ukraine, Syria and Iraq; women who are intent on toppling the religious dictatorship ruling Iran.
She told the audience: Indeed, rest assured that ultimately, these oppressed women will overthrow the ruling theocracy in Iran.
President-elect of the Resistance explained the role of the clerical regime as the epicenter of fundamentalism and stated that the ruling theocracy in Iran is responsible for the massacre of 140,000 innocent people of Syria. Similarly, the bombing and the massacre of Iraq’s defenseless citizens are commanded by the Quds Force and carried out by Iraqi forces. There is hardly any country in the Middle East and in the Islamic World that has been spared the Iranian regime’s provocations and terrorism.
Maryam Rajavi added: Despite the fact that the mullahs have turned Iran into the epicenter of fundamentalism, owing to the Iranian people’s history of struggle and their culture, and by relying on five decades of perseverance of the People’s Mojahedin, Iran is the epicenter of liberation from fundamentalism and, at the same time, the epicenter of women’s emancipation and equality.
She added: The Islamic fundamentalism thrives on inequality while continuously causing oppression and discrimination. Therefore, if the regime were to abandon misogyny, the ruling theocracy would collapse. Thus, neither Khatami nor Rouhani, who launched a charm offensive of reform and moderation, did not and do not even get close to easing the oppression and subjugation of Iranian women. Because doing so would mean the beginning of the end of the regime.
The very bills which Ahmadinejad had submitted to the Majlis to intensify gender inequality are now being declared as law by Rouhani. Amongst these laws are the shameful bill that allows men to marry their adopted daughters; setting quotas and applying gender segregation in the universities; and prohibiting women from studying in dozens of fields of study at the universities.
Mrs. Rajavi emphasized: Defending the pioneering women in Camp Liberty who in the past two decades have played a unique role in the struggle against fundamentalism is a crucial duty of the equality movements. They, along with the men fighting alongside them, are not only deprived of security and protective requirements against consecutive missile attacks, but the proxy government in Iraq has deprived them of the least humanitarian, medical and hygienic standards. She called on all activists of the women movement throughout the world to call on the United Nations and the U.S. government to adhere to their commitments to secure the protection of Camp Liberty residents. In particular, they should put the release of the seven Ashraf hostages, including six women, on their agenda, and refer the file of the September 1st crime against humanity in Ashraf to the Security Council.
In addition to Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, other speakers to this conference were: Linda Chavez, former White House Director of Public Liaison; Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada; Michèle Alliot-Marie, former French Minister of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Interior and Justice; Rita Süssmuth, former President of the Bundestag; Ingrid Betancourt, former presidential candidate in Colombia; Carmen Quintanilla, Chair of the Spanish Parliament Women‘s Committee; Edit Bauer, member of European Parliament; Els Demol, member of Belgian Parliament; the Italian delegation, including Gianna Gancia, Governor of Cuneo, and Elisabetta Zamparutti, former member of parliament; the delegation from Iceland, including Ragnheiður Ríkharðsdóttir, chairwoman of Iceland’s Independent party, and Ásta Ragnheiður Jóhannesdóttir, former deputy speaker of parliament; Aude de Thuin, founder of International Women’s Forum; Mariane Pearl, French journalist.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
March 1, 2014
