‘Grow a spine’: US visa for Iranian Vice-President leaves people seething

The Vice-President of Iran, a country that has been slammed for its atrocious rights record, is in the US and will be seeking Israel’s expulsion from the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) over “atrocities against Palestinian women in Gaza”.

The American visa for Iranian Vice-President Ensiyeh Khazali and her travel to New York for the UN summit has drawn massive criticism.

Khazali, the vice-president for women and family affairs, is in New York to attend the 68th annual Commission on the Status of Women — the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment, according to Iran’s official news agency Irna.

The summit will take place from March 11 to March 22.

“We will report on the situation of women in Iran as well as the situation of women at the international level and the issues they face, particularly the conditions that unfortunately exist in Gaza where there is bloodshed and starvation caused by blockade and war crimes”, Mehr News Agency quoted Khazali as telling reporters in the US.

“…God willing we will demand the expulsion of Israel from the Commission on the Status of Women,” she was quoted by Mehr, Iran’s semi-official news agency, as saying.

Activists who oppose the Iranian regime criticised visa to Ensiyeh Khazali, saying that women’s rights violations were rampant in the Islamist country.

“Iranian women continue to be persecuted and the UN report confirms crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Iranian regime,” Iran Freedom Advocate Maneli Mirkhan posted on X.

“But Ensiyeh Khazali, vice president of women’s affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and a key player in these rights violations, despite her role in the oppression of women, obtained a US visa and arrived in New York only 48 hours after International Women’s Day,” she said.

IRAN’S CRUSHING OF WOMEN’S PROTEST

International human rights organisations have highlighted the cruelty women face at the hands of Iran’s feared religious morality police.

In 2022, the religious police, arrested Mahsa Amini for allegedly not wearing the hijab in accordance with Iranian government norms. She died in custody.

Her custodial death sparked protests in Iran and across the world.

Since Mahsa Amini’s death in custody, Iranian authorities have with unspeakable cruelty, inflicting violence on people in Iran to stifle protests and crush dissent, Amnesty International reported in 2023.

It mentioned hundreds of unlawful killings, the arbitrary execution of seven people, tens of thousands of arbitrary arrests and systematic torture, including rape, to curb the protests.

“This [granting of visa to Ensiyeh Khazali] is a serious affront to Iran’s brave women and freedom fighters,” Iran Freedom Advocate Maneli Mirkhan said.

Jason Brodsky policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran also questioned the US State Department for visa to Ensieh Khazali.

“Ensieh Khazali has supported child marriage and lied to the world about IRI’s suppression of its people. The US could have made a statement here by denying her a visa. The @StateDept needs to grow a backbone and start isolating Tehran diplomatically,” he said.