Women's Rights Under Attack in Iran

Jordan isn't the only Muslim country where efforts to improve women's rights has come under attack. In Iran, too, religious conservatives are outraged over the idea that women should have a civil status somewhere close to that of men. The parliament has voted to join the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, but not everyone is happy about that.

The Gulf Daily News explains:

Leading clerics called the convention "colonialist" and said it contradicted scores of Islamic rulings. "This is just like other stereotyped Western slogans like support for human rights, democracy, political prisoners and, very recently, the war on terrorism," the Isna students news agency quoted Ayatollah Hossein Nouri-Hamedani as saying. "All these plots are meant to undermine Islam," he added.

The measure hasn't become law yet - all such bills must first be approved by the Guardian Council, a group controlled by religious fundamentalists which often strikes down attempts to institute liberal reforms. Indeed, that common habit is one of the things that students have been protesting in Iran over recent months.

Read More:

• Shia Islam
• Religion in Iran