|
Iran Fails to Win UN Seat on Women's Rights Body
After much gripping and lobbying from the West, the world community has determined that Iran is not a suitable board member for UN Women. The organization is the amalgamation of different United Nations bodies focused on gender equality and empowerment of women. The 41-member board had set aside 10 seats for Asian representatives, and a slate of 10 Asian nations was proposed including Iran. Western pressure convinced the government of East Timor to bring the number of candidates to 11, forcing a vote. Iran finished 11th, with 19 votes. It required 28 votes from the 54-member UN Economic and Social Council. Sadly, Saudi Arabia did win a seat.
Iran, of course, has no business sitting on the board of UN Women. A quick look at Iranian law will prove that gender inequality is enshrined in its penal code.
Article 74: Adultery, whether punishable by flogging or stoning, may be proven by the
testimony of four just men or that of three just men and two just women.
Article 75: If adultery is punishable only by flogging it can be proven by the testimony of two just men and four just women.
Article 76: The testimony of women alone or in conjunction with the testimony of only
one just man shall not prove adultery but it shall constitute false accusation which is a punishable act.
In simplest terms, a woman's testimony is not worth as much as a man's. By definition, that is inequality just as surely as 2 does not equal 3.
Defenders of the Iranian regime argue that women are equal, but because of differences between the sexes, they are treated differently. One has heard it said that men have no need of gynecological exams, for instance, but to deny them to women is cruel. True, but irrelevant. The differences in that case are biological, and one is discussing a fundamental point of civilized society -- equality under the law.
At the same time, the Saudi presence on the board is shameful. In the Kingdom, women cannot drive, go out in public without a male escort/minder, nor may they travel, receive medical care or open a bank account without written permission from a male family members. Shame their sand sits on so much oil.
In addition, Libya and Congo secured seats. Libya has a habit of imprisoning women who violate the country's moral codes in places called "social rehabilitation facilities," an Orwellian terms for jail. And in Congo, rape is a common practice and weapon of war and social control.
Nevertheless, one doesn't let one criminal go free because one cannot catch all the others. Keeping Iran off the board was a positive result for humanity. One hopes that next time around, the other sexist states can meet a similar fate.
© Copyright 2010 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
Kensington Review Home
|
|
|