Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi Urges Action Against "Gender Apartheid" in Iran

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, currently imprisoned in Tehran's Evin prison, has called on the international community to unite in "criminalizing gender apartheid."

She criticized the Islamic Republic's "malicious, deceptive, and misleading" use of religious principles to exacerbate gender inequality.

Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, highlighted the systematic oppression faced by women in Iran and Afghanistan under both the Taliban and the Islamic Republic.

"Failure to criminalize gender apartheid not only amplifies discrimination and oppression against women but also fortifies the authority of religious and authoritarian regimes," she said in a message from Evin prison on March 7.

"As much as the Woman, Life, Freedom movement has bolstered women's awareness, courage, and bravery, it has also resulted in significant oppression and increased pressure on women in Iran by the Islamic Republic," she added.

"From the international community, human rights and feminist organizations, as well as advocates of democracy, freedom, and equality, I demand support for the criminalization of gender apartheid and the liberation of women in Iran and Afghanistan, who stand up defiantly," she demanded.

Mohammadi is serving multiple sentences, including 12 years and three months in prison, 154 lashes, two years of exile, and various social and political restrictions.

While incarcerated, she has consistently spoken out against the authorities, alleging systematic human rights violations, and remained a staunch opponent of mandatory hijab.

Dozens of women's rights activists, union representatives, civic activists, and student organizations have joined Mohammadi's cause.

In a joint statement issued on the occasion of International Women's Day, they urged world governments to "boycott" the Islamic Republic as a "gender apartheid regime."