Every day, a huge amount of news and information about violence, harassment, and abuse against women and girls is reflected in official and social media. These acts of violence, in private and public spaces, at home and in the workplace, on the streets and in markets, on public transportation and in prisons, endanger the safety and health of women and girls. What responsibility and accountability does the government have in the face of this immense violation of the human rights of women and girls?

In private spaces, domestic violence, femicide, infanticide, and suicides are on the rise in Iran. In recent years, there has been a 30% increase in female suicides, especially in border provinces. (1) In just the past month, there have been numerous reports of such violence as always. On September 23, 2023, in the city of Ravansar in Kermanshah province, Mona Aghaei is murdered by her brother. On September 28, a man in front of passersby in Mahdasht, Karaj, kills his wife with a spear. A young woman, a mother of two and divorced, sets herself on fire in front of the Tawhid Distribution Company in Malekan on September 13. On September 10, 16-year-old Sonia Ma’navi is killed by her 21-year-old fiancé. On September 16, 14-year-old Mahsa Naderi is

Violence against women is not limited to private spaces, the home environment, and honor killings. Women and girls are also harassed, abused, arrested, tortured, and sexually assaulted in public spaces. Sexual harassment in the workplace is another form of violence against women. Due to the lack of extensive research, which is the responsibility of the government and independent civil institutions (not organizations under strict government supervision), a limited study conducted on 82 working women in Tehran showed that 75% of them have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. This is while in the past 44 years, there has been no clear and specific guidelines for addressing sexual harassment in the workplace. Law enforcement and judicial institutions also hold the victims responsible and put them back into the cycle of violence.

It is important to note that according to research on violence in public spaces in Western and North African countries, 39% of women in Western Asia (Middle East) experience harassment and abuse in public spaces, with 44% in Egypt and 15% in Tunisia. In this study, cultural challenges and the lack of protective and deterrent laws have been identified as reasons for this issue.

In Iran, in addition to harassment and abuse, violence and violation of sanctities rooted in the patriarchal culture, harassment, abuse, attacks, and arrests due to improper veiling (for example, the case of Mahsa Amini) or unveiling are another layer of violence imposed by the government on women. The right to choose one’s clothing is one of the individual rights and freedoms that has been absent in the past 44 years and has created a basis for harassment, beating, arrests, and facing unjust crimes for women and girls. Iranian society has experienced mandatory veiling and forced hijab, which has turned women’s clothing into a symbol of the political identity of those in power. However, the uprising of 1401 and the demand for the right of women and girls to choose their clothing, which is also reflected in the slogan “Women, Life, Freedom”, is a demand and request that arises not from the top but from the bottom of society and from women and girls who have

Violence against women is the result of unequal gender and sexual inequalities. What responsibility do governments truly have towards femicide? What responsibility do they have towards harassment, abuse, and violation of the rights and freedoms of women and girls?

Governance is responsible and accountable to citizens and the global community. The responsibility and accountability of governments in regards to upholding human rights as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international conventions is something that even anti-democratic governments do not deny in words, but they use these concepts to deceive the public and maintain their power. However, “when they are in private, they do something else” and in reality, they are not committed to it in their actions.

There are three important elements in a responsible government: “power”, “law”, and “freedom”. In a responsible and accountable government, power must be distributed in a way that prevents its concentration in a limited circle or in one institution. The separation of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches is another foundation of a responsible and accountable government, as these three powers control and balance each other. On the other hand, mechanisms of accountability towards citizens, including fair elections, must be in place to ensure that those in power and authority are accountable to the people and their decisions can be reviewed and challenged by citizens. The rule of law is the foundation of a accountable government. This means that the actions and decisions of the government are based on established laws and regulations, not the arbitrary decisions of officials and government institutions. An independent judiciary ensures fair interpretation and application of laws, and the actions of a responsible and accountable government must be in line with human rights obligations and conventions. Transparency in legislation and

In general, the relationship between power, law, and freedom forms a system in which the government is accountable to its citizens, power and authority are controlled and restrained, and the rule of law is preserved. Responsible and accountable power and authority ensure transparent actions that guarantee the interests of the majority of citizens, especially those who are marginalized and disadvantaged. The government is responsible for respecting and supporting the diversity of sexual, gender, ethnic, national, and religious identities. Responsible and accountable authority is committed to the social contract. The social contract is an implicit agreement between citizens and the government. Citizens commit to respecting the laws that protect their rights and freedoms, as well as the economic interests, security, environment, and public order of society, which respect their human rights and dignity. Achieving a strong and fruitful social contract requires a framework based on human rights, an independent judiciary, free media, and committed citizens.

Responsibility and accountability of the government and state towards the international community and its mechanisms is crucial. These commitments are formed by signing conventions and global declarations, and the government is accountable to the international community based on them.

It is worth noting that the United Nations Truth-Finding Committee, formed last year by the UN Human Rights Council during the “Women, Freedom, and Life” uprising, to investigate human rights violations in dealing with protests during this uprising, and “Sara Hossein”, “Shahin Sardar Ali” and “Viviana Cristichovich” are members of it, have expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of accountability, responsibility, and cooperation of the Iranian government in their reports. Sara Hossein, in her first oral report to the Human Rights Council on July 5, 2023, said: “The Iranian government has not yet cooperated with this committee.” She criticized the fact that the family of Mahsa Amini did not receive a satisfactory response regarding the killing of their daughter in the detention center of the Basij forces and said: “Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, two journalists involved in covering this incident, have been in

Furthermore, this committee announced in its latest report on September 15, 2023 that one year after the start of nationwide protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, the harassment and persecution of women by the government is increasing.

Authoritarian and self-serving governments, who rely on their absolute power and disregard the demands and common aspirations of their citizens, always blame foreign enemies and protesting citizens for their failures. Irresponsibility and unaccountability towards citizens, is the other side of the coin of non-accountability and responsibility towards international institutions such as the Human Rights Council.

Responsibility and accountability for preserving the security, health, and lives of women and girls and eliminating various forms of violence against women in private and public spaces, whether it be the violence perpetuated by anti-women laws in different areas of women’s lives or the violence imposed on women and girls by official and unofficial government agents, including the violence rooted in unequal power relations and mental constructs that have long been outdated, is the fifth goal of sustainable development to which governments are accountable. There is a huge gap between the accountability of the international community in addressing sexual and gender-based inequalities in the world and in Iran. What brought the 1401 uprising to an irreversible point was not only the Islamic Republic’s failure to address the death of Mahsa and respond to the Truth Commission, but also its failure to be accountable to its citizens – especially protesters and grieving families. In last year’s protests, at least 530 people, including 71 children, were killed and over 19,700 were arrested (

Martin Luther King, leader of the African American Civil Rights Movement, believed that: “There are two types of laws; just and unjust. An individual not only has a legal responsibility, but also a moral one, to obey just laws. Conversely, an individual has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. One who willingly accepts imprisonment in order to awaken the conscience of society to injustice, shows the highest respect for the law.”

Footnotes:

1- The Human Rights Organization of Hengaw reported a 30% increase in the murder and suicide of women and girls in Kurdish provinces in the year 1400 (2021-2022).

2- The statistics refer to daily figures published by the Hrana News Agency during last year’s nationwide protests.