US plans to remove ‘unfit’ Iran from UN women’s body over crackdown on anti-hijab protests

The United States has announced its intention to remove Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

The move comes in the wake of the middle eastern country’s growing intolerance towards anti-hijab protests which stirred after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22 year-old woman who died in custody of the country’s ‘morality police’ in mid-September.

US Vice President Kamala Harris in a statement released by the White House said that any nation which “systematically” abuses rights of women and girls, should not be allowed on such forums charged with protecting the same rights. As UNCSW works towards promotion of gender equality, Harris said Iran’s “brutal crackdown against its people renders it unfit to serve on this Commission.”

“Iran’s very presence discredits the integrity of its membership and the work to advance its mandate,” she further said.

Amini’s death, who was detained for wearing “inappropriate” clothes, has spiraled the country into turmoil. Women have taken to streets to protest against the controversial ‘morality police’ which strictly enforces dress codes pertaining to hijab in the country.

Reuters citing an internal news agency reported that till now over 280 protestors have been killed in the crackdown but they remain unmoved even after repeated warnings from the authorities. Videos have surfaced on social media showing protestors engaged in ‘sit-down’ strikes, burning headscarves, cutting hairs, and knocking off turbans of clerics on streets as the demonstration intensifies in one of the most significant protests since the Islamic revolution of 1979.