You were right Bambi. Women activists are defending Iranian women's human rights and other women's rights in other countries, and using that defense as a platform for COMPARISON of each other's vilification and for the enforcement of all women's rights. Here is a website on one group I found and a look at one of the pages. You go girl.
In a survey conducted by the Coalition in 2008, women human rights defenders identified the most common violations they experienced as: intimidation and harassment; surveillance and blacklisting; attacks, intimidation, including of family members, defamation, slander, vilification (abuse); killing and attempted killing. They suffer these abuses as forms of prejudice, exclusion and repudiation (to reject) resulting from specific targeting by both state and non-state actors on various grounds, particularly where their promotion of human rights concerns is deemed controversial
http://www.defendingwomen-defendingrights.org/
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WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST VIOLENCE
Joining the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign, members of the International Coalition on Women Human Rights Defenders honor 16 women human rights defenders who have endured all risks and dangers to pursue their activism.
Click here for more information 
12 April 2009, Nepal - Urgent Appeal! WHRDs assaulted and beaten by Police in Sunsari District: An appeal for solidarity and support 
OMCT appeal
26 March 2009, Cuba - Join the Ladies in White in Callingfor Human Rights in Cuba
13 February 2008, Zimbabwe: Arbitrary arrest and subsequent release on bail of eight members of WOZA and two lawyers of ZLHR
4 February 2009, Iran - Urge Iranian Authorities to Release Women Human Rights Defenders
Take Action: click here
Update! Violent Search of Nafiseh Azad's Home and Seizure of Property
14 January 2009, Azerbaijan - Accusations made against human rights defender, Ms Leyla Yunus
June 2009 - APWLD Condemns Acts of Intimidation Against Cambodian Opposition Member of Parliament: Threat to lift Member of Parliament Mu Sochua's immunity
10 June 2009, Nepal - Remembering Laxmi Bohara - One year and the story goes on with other WHRDs
12 May 2009, Iran - Human Rights Defenders Prevented from Leaving Iran; Women’s Rights Advocates Arrested
17 April 2009, Nepal - Government Fails to Protect Women Human Rights Activists from Violent Attacks
7 April 2009, Fiji: Women’s human rights group broken into
27 March 2009, Iran - Twelve Women’s Rights Activists Arrested for Planned New Years Visit
Members of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition deplore the systematic discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and activists in Uganda. Such abuses violate fundamental human rights and endanger the lives of human rights defenders, including sexual rights defenders, in the country.
In several acts since March 2009, right-wing religious and anti-gay groups have verbally attacked LGBT persons, by charging them with recruiting children into homosexuality; issuing slanderous remarks; and exposing in the media the names, places of employment and photos of more than 100 people suspected to be LGBT, including several LGBT rights defenders. An article in the leading tabloid The Red Pepper claimed to be exposing ”Uganda’s shameless men and unabashed women that have deliberately exported the western evils to our dear and sacred society.” The strategic manipulation of prejudices about sexuality, known as sexuality baiting, is a dangerous practice that promotes negative stereotyping of LGBT persons and activists, increasing their vulnerability to acts of violence motivated by sexual orientation and gender identity in Uganda.
Moreover, it is alarming that government officials have adopted similar rhetoric. The New Vision, a Ugandan newspaper, reported that Chief Parliamentarian David Migereko stated that gays had exposed themselves, and the government would go after them. "Homosexuality is illegal. The Minister of Ethics, Dr. Nsabu Butoro, has been clear on the matter. Those involved will face the long arm of the law."
The state’s discriminatory actions go beyond rhetoric. The police arrested at least five men on charges related to homosexual conduct. Most have been charged with having ”carnal knowledge against the order of nature,” and one of the detainees has been charged with assaulting a minor and aggravated defilement, subject to the death penalty.
Such discriminatory acts against LGBT and sexual rights defenders committed by state and private actors violate the freedom from discrimination enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Additionally, the criminalization of homosexuality is contrary to Uganda’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protects the rights to freedom from discrimination (art. 2 and 26), freedom of expression (art. 19), freedom from arbitrary interference with the right to privacy (art. 17) and freedom of conscience (article 18). These acts are also contrary to the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which protects the human rights and freedoms of human rights defenders.
Members of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition call on the Government of Uganda to:
- Adopt necessary legislation decriminalizing homosexuality in Uganda;
- Uphold the human rights of LGBT persons and LGBT rights defenders and cease negative stereotyping of the LGBT community;
- Stop the arrests of people based on their suspected homosexual sexual orientation and immediately release those who have been unfairly arrested on charges related to consensual same-sex relationships;
- End efforts to increase penalties for consensual same-sex relationships, or what is being referred to as 'homosexual recruitment.'
April 9, 2009
President Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Your Excellency:
We, the undersigned members of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition, submit this statement to express our deepest concerns regarding the imprisonment of Alieh Eghdamdoost, as well as the recent arrest of 12 other human rights defenders in Iran.
Alieh Eghdamdoost, together with dozens of other activists, was arrested at a women’s rights demonstration in Tehran in June 2006. On July 6, 2007, she was sentenced to a prison term of three years and four months, and 20 lashes. On appeal, the prison term was reduced by four months, and the judge overturned the lashings. Her sentence of three years is now being implemented, making her the first woman to have a sentence related to women’s rights activism actually implemented. Eghdamdoost was taken from her home on January 31, and has been held in Evin prison since. The fact that Eghdamdoost has been sentenced to a threeyear sentence that she is now forced to serve, while some others arrested on the same day faced no charges, were acquitted, or received suspended sentences, demonstrates the completely arbitrary nature of these judicial proceedings. Her imprisonment also sets a dangerous precedent for all women engaged in human rights activism in Iran.
The implementation of Eghdamdoost’s sentence is taking place against a backdrop of increased repression of all human rights defenders, including women’s rights activists.
Reliable sources have reported that on March 26 Iranian security forces detained 12 members of the One Million Signatures Campaign and Mothers for Peace, as they were sitting in their 2 / 3 cars on a street corner in Tehran, preparing to make New Year’s visits to the family members of some prisoners of conscience.
The One Million Signatures Campaign, launched in August 2006, is a grassroots movement to raise awareness about gender-based discrimination in the law and to promote gender equality.
Mothers for Peace are a diverse coalition of women seeking to promote a culture of peace in Iran and who condemn all forms of military aggression. Both groups employ peaceful methods to promote their message, whether through disseminating petitions, collecting signatures, or organizing and presenting lectures. As such, we consider members of both groups to be human rights defenders.
The twelve individuals arrested on March 26 were: Ali Abdi, Delaram Ali, Bahara Behravan, Farkhondeh Ehtesabian, Shahla Forouzanfar, Arash Nasiri Eghbali, Mahboubeh Karami, Khadijeh Moghaddam, Leila Nazari, Amir Rashidi, Mohammad Shoorab, and Soraya Yousefi.
After three days, ten of them were released on bail, but two activists, Mahboubeh Karami and Khadijeh Moghaddam, were kept in detention.
On April 5, the ten released activists were charged with “disturbing of public opinion,” and “disruption of public order,” charges all ten deny.
The two others, Karami and Moghaddam, who were also due to be arraigned on April 5, did not appear in court on that day. The deputy prosecutor informed their attorneys that they would be brought the following day, but in fact were kept in jail. In the end, Karami was released on April 7, and Moghaddam on April 8. Moghaddam faces charges in connection with a protest Mothers for Peace held on January 11, against Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
We strongly object to the arrest, detention and prosecution of these human rights defenders.
The frequent arrest and prosecution of human rights defenders for non-violent exercise of their freedom of expression has been inconsistent with Iran’s obligations under international law.
Even more concerning, based on the facts as we understand them, the persons arrested on March 26 were not engaged in a public activity, but were planning visits to private residences at the start of the New Year, as is customary amongst Iranians. The circumstances of their arrest simply do not even remotely support lodging charges such as “disrupting public order,” or “disturbing public opinion,” and appear as deliberate efforts to silence and intimidate these activists. We note, with great concern, that since the One Million Signatures Campaign has been launched, dozens of its members have been arrested, summoned for interrogation, monitored, banned from travel and prosecuted.
The efforts of these activists to promote gender equality and a culture of peace should be applauded, not hampered. The U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Defenders stipulates that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive 3 / 3 for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels.” The actions of the Iranian authorities stand in stark violation of this principle.
We urge the authorities to reverse their ruling on Eghdamdoost’s case and release her from detention.
Furthermore, we call upon the authorities in Iran to drop all charges against all 12 activists arrested on March 26, and further, to cease the repression and prosecution of all peaceful human rights defenders in Iran.
Thank you for your attention to these urgent matters.
Sincerely,
Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development
Asian Forum for Human RIghts and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Baobab for Women’s Human Rights
Front Line, The International Foundation for Human Rights Defenders
Human Rights First
International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition
Statement on March 8, International Women’s Day
The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition comprised of 18 international, regional and national women’s rights and human rights organisations, marks the occasion of March 8, International Women’s Day, by celebrating the courage of women human rights defenders around the world who challenge structures of discrimination and oppression that create environments conducive to human rights abuse. In the context of the current economic recession, women human rights defenders’ access to defence and protection is affected by shrinking resources and makes the nature and range of the attacks against them ever more severe.
Women human rights defenders, as defined by the Coalition, encompass both women active in human rights defence who are targeted for who they are as well as all those active in the defence of women's rights who are targeted for what they do. Simply, the term pertains to human rights activists who are women, as well as other activists including those who defend the rights of women and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; and uphold the universality of rights.
In a survey conducted by the Coalition in 2008, women human rights defenders identified the most common violations they experienced as: intimidation and harassment; surveillance and blacklisting; attacks and intimidation, including of family members; defamation, slander, vilification; killing and attempted killing. They suffer these abuses as forms of prejudice, exclusion and repudiation resulting from specific targeting by both state and non-state actors on various grounds, particularly where their promotion of human rights concerns is deemed controversial. Attacks based on race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexuality or gender identity, or combinations of these factors are very common.
It is in this light that we note with great concern the statements of some countries which attempt to undermine existing commitments to accepted international human rights standards, in particular, non-discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation, that threaten the human rights of women human rights defenders including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
We also stress the importance of the work done by women human rights defenders to document, monitor and provide protection for those under attack for their religion or belief as well as for exercising their right to freedom of expression. We hold these two rights to be inter-dependent and mutually reinforcing and note that attempts to limit them on grounds of ‘defamation of religion’ will undermine existing standards, and hinder the work of defenders by legitimising targeted attacks on them.
We urge the UN system and member states to strengthen the UN’s work for the fulfilment of women’s human rights, particularly through strengthening the gender equality architecture at the UN.
We welcome the commitment made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders to include the specific concerns of women human rights defenders in the priorities of her mandate. We support her efforts to sustain and broaden institutions for the protection of human rights defenders and affirm the need for continuing collaboration between the human rights defenders’ mandate and all other human rights mechanisms, including the Universal Periodic Review, to strengthen the protection of defenders.
We further call on States to uphold their obligations under the human rights treaties and to continue funding of programmes for the advancement of women’s human rights especially during the current financial crisis.
For more information, contact:
Mary Jane N. Real
Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition
c/o Center for Women's Global Leadership
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
160 Ryders Lane
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8555 USA
Tel. + 1 732 932 8782 ext. 602
Mobile Phone No.: 1 848 667 0908
email: whrd@apwld.org
skpe: maryjanereal1
http://www.worecnepal.org/downloads/daysactivism.pdf
Some Highlights of the National Consultation of Women Human Rights Defenders
click here for pictures
Protecting Human Rights Defenders: A Benefit Dinner. Manila, Philippines (Karapatan) To commemorate the International Women Human Rights Defenders Day and Karapatan's 13th year of service to human rights defenders, Karapatan is hosting an evening of music and dinner for the benefit of activities in support of human rights. (clickable link to invitation attached here).
National broadcast of violence against women human rights defenders in Algeria. Paris, France (COLLECTIF BNET FATMA NSOUMER). Collectif Bnet Fatma Nsoumer has been invited by a French NGO to join a three-day national broadcast in Paris to talk about violence in Algeria. Paricularly, it will speak about violence against women and women human rights defenders by armed fundamentalist groups.
Women Human Rights Defenders Questionnaire Report
Summary
This report analyses the responses to the women human rights defenders questionnaire developed by the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition. There were 90 respondents in 32 countries that answered the survey. Except for 2 men and 2 transgender, the respondents were all female. There were 6 who identified themselves as lesbians, 1 as bi-sexual, and many as heterosexuals. Over half of the respondents have spent more than 10 years in activism. All except 1 of the respondents belong to a formal organisation.
In spite of a high level of education among all respondents, only 3 of those that answered this question stated that they earn over US $5,000 a month. Over a fifth stated they earn only about US$ 200 a month. 24% make not more than US $ 5,000 and 16% earn between US $ 501 – 1,000.
80 of the 90 respondents claimed they have heard of the term ‘women human rights defenders’; and 75 identified themselves as such. More than half of them experienced violations as women human rights defenders. The most common violations are: intimidation and harassment; surveillance and blacklisting; attacks and intimidation of family members; defamation, slander, vilification; killing and attempted killing. About 8 of the female respondents claimed experiencing sexual violence.
While only 1 respondent cited ‘restrictive use of customary law and religion’ as a violation, many of the women human rights defenders cited discrimination against them as a major obstacle to their activism. This is so particularly for respondents belonging to marginalised groups such as Dalit, transgender and LGBTs. In general, the defenders’ vulnerability to violations is closely related to their focus of work, with those working in conflict areas, defence of human rights defenders, and sexual and reproductive rights more vulnerable than others. Women human rights defenders that work at local or national levels also experienced more violations than those who work with regional or international organisations.
Almost all of the respondents cited lack of resources as a major obstacle in their work. Regardless of their number of children and responsibilities at home, majority complained of physical and psychological exhaustion. The survey indicated that women human rights activism is so under-resourced yet the level of impunity is high that the women human rights defenders have exploited themselves in the process.
The respondents recommended that the following must change to improve their situation: 1) Step up and continue efforts to end impunity; 2) Create an enabling environment for women by combating discrimination in all forms; 3) Address activists’ well-being and security; 4) advocate for more resources for women’s rights; 5) continue capacity building and education on human rights.
The findings speak to the validity of the four calls of the international campaign on women human rights defenders in 2005, and affirm the relevance of the strategic objectives identified by the coalition in January 2008.
Click here to download English version 
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Seventh session
Oral Intervention by Front Line on behalf of the International Coalition on Women Human Rights Defenders
Statement on the Review of the Mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders
Mr. President,
The International Coalition on Women Human Rights Defenders, comprised of 18 *1 international, regional and national women’s rights and human rights organisations, strongly supports the renewal of the mandate of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders.
As a Special Representative of the Secretary General, the mandate holder has access to the highest levels of the UN and to governments, and is therefore uniquely placed to play an essential role in supporting and protecting human rights defenders. The successful collaborations of the mandate with UN agencies, representatives of governments, and members of civil society since 2000 has resulted in the increased visibility of human rights situations concerning human rights defenders and their work. It has also improved the protection provided to them and as a consequence helped to make the voices of victims heard. Our organisations and many others have come to rely on the mandate as one of the most responsive and effective means to assist defenders at risk, with tangible outcomes, such as the release of defenders from prison or the curtailment of attacks against them.
We would like to congratulate the current and founding Special Representative, Hina Jilani for her comprehensive work on violations related to defense of all human rights for all, and for her work on women human rights defenders “who are at risk to certain forms of violence and restrictions because they are women, and because of the controversial issues they advocate for”. Her courageous and thoughtful work inspired the launching of the International Campaign on Women Human Rights Defenders in 2005, which has evolved into the current coalition, influencing policy on women human rights defenders, providing timely and systematic interventions for their protection, and helping to sustain their activism.
2008 marks the 10th anniversary of the Human Rights Defenders Declaration, and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On this occasion we urge the Human Rights Council to affirm the renewal of the mandate of the Special Representative, including its commitment to effectively integrate human rights of women as well as include a gender perspective in its work.
Thank you Mr. President.
*1 Amnesty International (AI), Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum Asia), Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL), Front Line, Information Monitor (Inform), International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), ISIS-Women's International Cross-Cultural Exchange (ISIS-WICCE), The Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women's Rights (CLADEM), Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML), World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), Baobab for Women’s Human Rights, Human Rights First, International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), MADRE (an international women’s human rights organisation), Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Rights (UAF), Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice (WIGJ)
WOZA members beaten in the streets of Bulawayo on International Women's Day
Breaking news
Saturday 8th March
WOZA members beaten in the streets of Bulawayo on International Women's Day
Over 1,000 members of WOZA and MOZA marched through the streets of Bulawayo today to commemorate International Women's Day. The peaceful protesters, who were carrying balloons, were met by riot police after four blocks and viciously beaten. Over 50 members received medical attention for injuries caused by the assault.
read more
International Support for Persecuted Women’s Rights Campaigners in Iran
(March 7, 2008) In a strong show of international support for the Iranian women’s rights movement, over 280 leading women’s right advocates and organizations from around the world including six Nobel Peace Laureates have expressed their serious concern about the persecution and prosecution of their Iranian colleagues. They have endorsed a statement calling on the Iranian government to end repressive policies and the persecution of campaigners for equal rights. read more
Protest Closure of Iranian Women's Magazine
Click Here to Take Action:
http://action.humanrightsfirst.org/campaign/Zanan/
With parliamentary elections around the corner in Iran, the free press and the right to freedom of expression are increasingly under fire.
read more
Freedom of expression and information must be guaranteed
Freedom of expression and information must be guaranteed
*Paris, 3 January 2008 *
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) strongly condemns the arbitrary detention and assault in Pakistan on a group of persons including the two daughters of Ms. Asma Jahangir, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), human rights lawyer and United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.
read more
Claiming Rights, Claiming Justice: A Guidebook on Women Human Rights Defenders
A Guidebook on Women Human Rights Defenders is aimed to help women human rights defenders name the specific risks, violations and constraints they face in their work. It presents a practical discussion of the useful mechanisms developed by the state and also the civil society to provide redress and remedy, and to protect women human rights defenders. It is intended to be used by human rights and other organisations to further a gender perspective in the monitoring and documentation of human rights.
The guidebook was produced by APWLD in close collaboration with individuals and organisations that participated in the international campaign on women human rights defenders since 2005. Printed copies are for sale at 25USD including postage. For orders please contact APWLD at Phone numbers: (66) 53 284527, 284856
Fax: +66 53 280847 email: apwld@apwld.org.
Last edited on Mon Jun 29th, 2009 02:45 am by Nobodys Fool
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.
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For years, women's defiance in Iran came in carefully planned flashes of hair under their head scarves, brightly painted fingernails and trendy clothing that could be glimpsed under bulky coats and cloaks.
But these small acts of rebellion against the theocratic government have been quickly eclipsed in the wake of the disputed June 12 presidential elections. In their place came images of Iranian women marching alongside men, of their scuffles with burly militiamen, of the sobering footage of a young woman named Neda, blood pouring from her mouth and nose minutes after her fatal shooting.
In a part of the Muslim world where women are often repressed, these images have catapulted Iran's female demonstrators to the forefront of the country's opposition movement. It is a role, say Iranian women and experts, that few seem willing to give up, and one that will likely present President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hardline government with even greater challenges in the wake of the recent violence and protests.
"Iranian women are very powerful and they want their freedom," said one woman in Tehran who said she's been taking part in the protests. Like all women in Iran interviewed for this story, she did not want to be named, fearing government retribution. "They're really, really repressed, and they need to talk about it."
The election seemed to open the floodgates for airing that sense of frustration.
Claims by Ahmadinejad's chief rival for the presidency, Mir Hossein Mousavi, that the election was riddled with fraud were the catalyst for days of protest following the vote. The government's harsh response — evidenced in hundreds of arrests, the deaths of over a dozen demonstrators, clampdowns on the media, the refusal of the country's theocratic leaders to entertain the possibility of a re-count — fueled popular discontent across wide swaths of the population.
But there is an extra layer of resentment and anger among many of Iran's 35 million women. Many fear that a second term for a man who was first elected in 2005 in part on a platform of restoring "Islamic values" will only prove to be worse than the first.
"The root of the current unrest is the people's dissatisfaction and frustration at their plight going back before the election," said Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi. "Because women are the most dissatisfied people in society, that is why their presence is more prominent."
Across the Muslim Middle East, women have often joined men in protest movements.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, women took part in street demonstrations in the tiny Gulf country. Over the years, images of Palestinian women, fists raised in anger against Israel and tears flowing in despair over children and husbands killed, have become a staple of that conflict.
But Iran's protests have elevated such images to a new level.
While Iranian women have been politically active in the past, coming out in large numbers in support of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the latest demonstrations showed them standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their male counterparts, enduring the same blows and threats.
"We were all together, and we helped each other despite our sexuality, and we will be together," said one 34-year-old Tehran woman who is active in the protests.
They have also given the movement some of its most high-profile arrests — former President Hashemi Rasfanjani's 46-year-old activist daughter — and its first martyr, Neda Agha Soltan.
Soltan, who was allegedly shot by pro-government militia as she walked through a protest Saturday, became the public face of the government's repression — a female martyr in a culture that celebrates such symbols, but usually relegates women to the role of the martyr's mother or wife.
Video images of Soltan lying on the street, blood pouring from her mouth and nose as a few men crouch down, struggling to save her, quickly made their way onto the Internet. From there, they bounced around the world.
"She represents this youth who went there with such hope and idealism," said Ziba Mir-Hosseini, who researches the situation of women in Iran, at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. "In a way, she is the first woman martyr. She is a martyr for democracy."
President Barack Obama on Tuesday summed it up as such: "We have seen courageous women stand up to brutality and threats, and we have experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets."
In the convoluted, and fluid, calculus of Iranian politics, it remains to be seen how the government will deal with these challenges. Also unclear is how these developments will shape policy.
Under previous reformist regimes, Iranian women secured a wink-and-a-nod attitude from the government that allowed them to adopt more casual hair coverings and more freedoms than those seen in other conservative Muslim countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia.
Although they are barred from the presidency and religious posts, many Iranian women are in parliament and other political offices. About 65 percent of university students are women.
In 2006, a group of women launched a campaign to gather a million signatures in favor of equal rights for women. And, in the run-up to the presidential election, a coalition of women from diverse economic and social classes worked to ensure that the candidates focused their platforms on efforts to improve women's lives.
Mousavi's bid for the presidency further encouraged them, with women buoyed in no small part by his progressive stance on women's issues and his unorthodox — at least for Iran — campaign appearances alongside his wife, Zahra Rahnavard.
Rahnavard, who was forced out of the chancellor's position at Al-Zahra University by conservatives in 2006, campaigned by her husband's side, appeared in campaign videos and even drew political attacks from opponents.
"For the first time in a presidential campaign you could see a man campaigning with his wife," said the University of London's Mir-Hosseini. "At many of these meetings they were holding hands, and that was breaking a big taboo."
On Wednesday, Rahnavard made her voice heard again, saying on one of her husband's Web sites that his followers had the right to protest and the government should not deal with them harshly.
It remains to be seen how women, particularly after the days of violence, will demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the regime, especially if its headed by a man whose earlier actions were seen as limiting their rights.
Under Ahmadinejad's first term, rules were set in place that made it difficult for women to work late or take on extra hours, and pushing many into part-time jobs. Last year, his government proposed a law that would have made it easier for men to take additional wives — a practice allowed under Islam but generally frowned upon in Iran. More than 60 women activists who took part in the signature campaign were arrested, some of whom are still in jail, said Nayereh Tohidi, a professor at California State University, Northridge.
Then, there is the issue of clothes. Under Ahmadinejad the rules are being tightly enforced, women are required to cover their hair and wear loose and long garments over pants. They face arrest if their fashion is deemed too risque — a qualification that has even included pants tucked into boots during the winter.
"It is the biggest insult to a woman that somebody can tell her what she should wear," said the 34-year-old Tehran woman active in the protests. "Nowadays many people can see the world easily, how they live peacefully in their countries without any enforcement, so we know our basic rights as a human and especially as a woman."
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Santana reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Constant Brand in Brussels contributed to this report.
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