Independent human rights experts reporting to the United Nations expressed grave concern over the rise in the systematic targeting of women from the Baha’i religious minority in Iran in a joint letter published on Tuesday.
The experts including Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran Mai Sato highlighted reports of Baha’i women being subjected to arrests, interrogations, enforced disappearances, home raids, confiscation of personal belongings, travel restrictions and prolonged detentions without due process.
Noting that Baha’i women make up two-thirds of all Baha’i prisoners in Iran, the experts said many were being held incommunicado.
This increase in persecution, they warned, represents a worrying deterioration of gender discrimination and persecution of religious minorities in the country.
“In the larger context of the targeting of women in Iran and the challenges with gender equality, this dramatic rise in persecution against Baha’i women is an alarming escalation,” the experts said in a statement Monday.
“This is affecting a group of people who face intersectional discrimination and persecution: as women and as members of the Baha’i religious minority.”
The experts also pointed to the ongoing persecution faced by all Baha’is in Iran, including the denial of higher education, restrictions on economic and cultural participation, and bans on university attendance and public employment.
“We are concerned at the use of ambiguously formulated accusations such as ‘threat to national security’ or ‘propaganda against the State’ to systematically restrict the peaceful exercise of their rights,” they said.
“This may have a significant chilling effect on other members of the Baha’i religious minority and the exercise of their human rights and freedoms.”
The experts, part of the UN Human Rights Council's Special Procedures—a group of independent experts who monitor and investigate human rights issues worldwide—said they raised their concerns directly with the Iranian government.
The Iranian authorities responded by asserting that Baha’is enjoy full rights and face no restrictions. However, just days after receiving this response, reports emerged that 10 Baha’i women in Isfahan had been sentenced to a total of 90 years in prison.
The experts emphasized that the Iranian government's response contradicts the situation on the ground, where Baha’is continue to face significant challenges to their rights and freedoms.
The Baha’i International Community also warned on Monday that 71-year-old Mahvash Sabet, a Baha’i prisoner in Iran, had undergone open-heart surgery after being denied medical care for years. The BIC called for her immediate release, the cancellation of her sentence and assurances she would not be returned to jail.
