Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail)
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I move:

That Seanad Éireann:

condemns: - the abuse of Mahsa Amini by the Iranian morality police and her death in custody; recognises that: - following Mahsa Amini’s abuse by the morality police and her death in custody, women and men across Iran have exercised their fundamental right to assemble and protest;

- despite repeated calls for restraint, the response of the Iranian security and police forces to demonstrations has been disproportionate, resulting in the loss of lives as well as a large number of injuries; agrees that: - the decision to severely restrict internet access by the relevant Iranian authorities and to block instant messaging platforms is a further cause for concern, as it blatantly violates freedom of expression;

- the widespread and disproportionate use of force against non-violent protesters is unjustifiable and unacceptable;

- people in Iran, as anywhere else, have the right to peaceful protest and that right must be ensured in all circumstances; and calls on the Iranian authorities to: - strictly abide by the principles enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a party;

- immediately stop the violent crackdown on protests, ensure internet access and free flow of information;

- clarify the number of deaths and those arrested, release all non-violent protesters and provide due process to all detainees; and

- ensure that the killing of Mahsa Amini be properly and fairly investigated and that any person proven to be responsible for her death be held accountable.

I welcome the Minster to the Chamber. I am sharing time with Senator Mary Fitzpatrick. Today, on International Day of the Girl Child, Fianna Fáil tabled this motion out of great concern for what is currently happening in Iran to women and girls and also to express our outrage at the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested on 13 September for not wearing a hijab in full compliance with Iran’s mandatory requirements for how women must dress.

Mahsa was arrested for not wearing a hijab and the authorities have claimed she died from natural causes - that she suffered a heart attack - which something her father does not believe nor do I, and I do not think anybody else does either. Mahsa is another victim of Iran’s continual repression and organised discrimination against women and the imposition of discriminatory dress codes that deprive women of bodily autonomy and the freedoms of opinion, expression and belief.

Since news of Mahsa’s death emerged, Iranians have taken to the streets to protest her death in major cities across Iran to demand accountability for her death and to put an end to violence and discrimination against women in the country, particularly compulsory veiling for women. Women, young girls and also men have taking to fighting for basic rights and equality for Iranian women, which is something that we all take for granted - the very basic freedoms that we all enjoy on a day-to-day daily basis.

Videos on social media show women and young girls protesting in the streets day and night. Young teenage girls in their schools have been protesting for their right to freedom from the oppressive laws placed on them as women and girls of Iran. Following the protests, prolonged Internet disruptions have been reported in Tehran, Kurdistan provinces and other parts of the country since 19 September. This is the third widespread Internet shutdown recorded over the past 12 months in Iran.

Over the past four decades, Iranian women have continued to peacefully protest against the compulsory hijab rules and the violations of their fundamental human rights. It has been reported that the morality police routinely subject women and girls to arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment for not complying with Iran’s compulsory veiling laws.

Mahsa Amini is a victim of Iran’s continual repression and organised discrimination. Her family said that they were notified that she had been taken to hospital hours after her arrest. She was transferred to an intensive care unit at Kasra Hospital. According to Human Rights Activists News Agency, HRANA, an Iranian human rights organisation, Amini’s family were told during her arrest that she would be released after a “re-education session”.

The news comes weeks after Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi, ordered a crackdown on women’s rights and called for stricter enforcement of the country’s mandatory dress code, which has required all women to wear the hijab head covering since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

According to Amnesty, Iranian security forces unlawfully killed at least 66 people, including children, and injured hundreds of others after firing live ammunition, metal pellets and tear gas at protesters, bystanders and worshippers during a violent crackdown after Friday prayers on 30 September in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan provinces. Since then, another 16 people were killed in separate incidents in Zahedan amid an ongoing clampdown on protests. Evidence gathered from activists, victims’ families, eyewitness testimonies and images and videos of the protests suggest the real death toll is likely to be much higher. Widely referred to by Iranians as “bloody Friday”, the onslaught on 30 September marked the deadliest day on record since protest started spreading across Iran nearly three weeks ago.

For the third time since the unrest started, members of the medical community issued a statement demanding security forces show greater restraint, saying protesters were being taken out of ambulances and beaten up with batons. The Iranian official press countered by publishing the names of 24 security officials they claimed had been killed by rioters since the protests started; however, no evidence has been supplied to support this.

Lawyers in Iran also hit back at a statement from the interior ministry that they would from now on hand out exemplary sentences to those convicted of rioting. They said all cases had to be treated on an individual basis and it was the heavy-handedness of the legal process that had led to the troubles.

Amnesty International has documented an alarming escalation in the use of force and firearms since 21 September, when the country’s top military body is said to have issued an order to commanders in all provinces instructing them to "severely confront troublemakers and anti-revolutionaries". In an attempt to absolve themselves of responsibility for the deaths I mentioned, the authorities in Iran have started to share false narratives, blaming the deaths on terrorist, rioters and separatists, whom they claim were acting for foreign governments. Again, there is no evidence to support this.

Propaganda videos broadcast on state media after 30 September have shown detainees whom authorities allege were involved in armed attacks against security forces with sacks over their heads. One video shows a detainee being asked leading questions by a TV presenter and being forced to make self-incriminating statements without a lawyer present over his alleged involvements in shootings on 30 September. Given the Iranian authorities’ well-documented pattern of producing and broadcasting coerced statements from detainees to cover up human rights violations, Amnesty International has expressed concern that such statements have been extracted under duress, which is a reasonable suggestion.

The authorities claimed that protesters committed acts of looting and arson of public property. However, beyond a minority of protesters throwing some stones at the police station, there has been no evidence of any such aggression on the part of protesters. It is quite clear that the Iranian authorities are using excessive and often lethal force against peaceful protesters. The unjustifiable, hugely violent and disproportionate response of the Iranian authorities to Iranian citizens protesting against the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody should be of grave concern to anyone who believes in democracy, freedom of expression and basic human rights.

Along with Mahsa Amini’s name, I want to put on the record the names of the other young women and girls who I believe have been murdered as a result of protesting for their freedom. Hadis Najafi, a 20-year-old woman, was shot six times when security forces opened fire on her. Ghazale Chelavi, a 32-year-old, was shot in the head after chanting “We are all Mahsa Amini”. Hanane Kia, aged 23, was shot and killed by Iranian security forces during protest. Mahsa Mogoi, aged 18, was shot and killed by Iranian security forces during a protest. Nika Shakarami, aged 16, was killed after burning her headscarf in protest. Sarina Esmailzadeh, aged 16, was beaten to death by Iranian security forces for protesting. If people search Sarina’s name on Twitter, they will find the most beautifully innocent video of her singing Hozier’s song, “Take Me to Church”, a song we all know very well. It is a devastating loss of a very bright and vibrant young woman in the prime of her life – a life that she will never get to live.

As a party, Fianna Fáil strongly condemns the use of violence against women and the denial of basic human rights and dignity when imposing compulsory hijab policies designated by state authorities. We also deplore the persistent impunity with respect to human rights violations in Iran, including the frequent deaths of protesters who are protesting peacefully due to the alleged use of lethal force by security forces.We call on the Iranian authorities to respect the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association as a state that is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ICCPR, and to say clearly that the use of force against non-violent protestors is unjustifiable and unacceptable.

Today, on what is International Day of the Girl Child, I pledge my solidarity and that of my Fianna Fáil colleagues to the women and girls of Iran who are fighting for the basic human right of being able to choose what they want to wear, to no longer be policed by the so-called morality police, to be free to express themselves in any way they feel is right for them, to live their lives to the fullest and to enjoy every freedom in doing so. Woman, life, freedom.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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It is frightening that we have to debate this motion. I am honoured to second it on behalf of the Fianna Fáil Members of Seanad Éireann, but it pains me that people in any part of the world have to debate this issue and that girls, women or any other human beings are living under such fear and oppression.

Our motion unreservedly condemns the abuse of Mahsa Amini by the Iranian morality police and we utterly condemn her death in custody. We dispute the false narrative that is being used to explain her death and we condemn the deaths of all of the young women named by Senator Chambers. We recognise that, following Mahsa Amini's abuse by the morality police and her death in custody, women and men across Iran have exercised, and continue to attempt to exercise, their fundamental right to assemble and protest and that, despite repeated calls for restraint, the response of the Iranian security and police forces to demonstrations has been disproportionate and has resulted in the loss of lives as well as large numbers of injuries. Our motion agrees that the decision to restrict Internet access by the relevant Iranian authorities and to block instant messaging platforms and what we take for granted as being basic forms of communications raises concerns. It blatantly violates freedom of expression, a basic freedom that every human should be able to enjoy.

The widespread and disproportionate use of force against non-violent protestors is unjustifiable and unacceptable and it must stop. People in Iran, as anywhere else, have a right to peaceful protest. That right must be ensured, protected and asserted in all circumstances.

We are specifically calling on the Iranian authorities to abide strictly by the principles enshrined in the ICCPR, to which Iran is a party. We want them to stop the violent crackdowns on protests immediately. We want to ensure that Internet access and the free flow of modern communications are restored and guaranteed for every human being. We want clarity on the number of deaths and arrests, we want the release of all non-violent protestors and we want to ensure that due process is provided to all detainees.

We must ensure that the killing of Mahsa Amini is properly and fairly investigated and that any person who is proven to have had any hand, act or part in causing her death is held accountable. We look to the Minister, on behalf of the Government, to assert our values, to speak up for Mahsa Amini and all of the girls, women and other human beings in Iran who are being oppressed and terrorised, and to assert their freedom and independence.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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I am happy to support this motion. I do not believe that there will be much debate on it, given that we are on the side of Senator Chambers and her Fianna Fáil colleagues. We are here because of how young girls and women are treated in Iran and the deaths of Mahsa Amini, Sarina Esmailzadeh, who was 16 years of age, and all the others whose names we do not know. Some of the names were mentioned, but there are so many different reports coming out about how many people have died that we do not know the actual figure.

Since 1979's revolution, Iran has had a civil code of law based on Sharia law, the legal system of Islam. There are a few facts that I want people to know about Iran and what life for women is like there. The age of marriage is 13 years for girls. It was lowered to nine by the revolutionary Government but was raised in 2022, although fathers can obtain judicial permission for their daughters to be married at a younger age. Between March 2020 and March 2021, the marriages of 31,379 girls between the ages of ten and 14 were registered, an increase of 10.5% on previous years.

Female activists and civil society organisations face harassment, intimidation, smear campaigns and imprisonment. For many, protests against the compulsory wearing of the hijab have become a symbolic resistance against the Islamic regime. These protests have been occurring for years. This is just the new revolution. There have been many revolutions down the years where women have tried to stand up. This time, though, the women are being listened to and supported by their men in Iran, which is good to see. Someone can be imprisoned not just for protesting the hijab, but for supporting those who do. Nasrin Sotoudeh was sentenced to 38 years for appearing as the legal defence for a woman protesting the compulsory wearing of the hijab. Many women who have been arrested for protesting against the compulsory wearing of the hijab say that they were subjected to solitary confinement, torture and beatings. The law vaguely defines what constitutes acts against morality, so the Gasht-e-Ershad - the Iranian morality police - have lots of power to punish what it deems immoral dress or behaviour.

A widow can only inherit one eighth of her husband's estate but a widower inherits his wife's entire estate. A son inherits twice as much as a daughter. These are basic rights that women do not have. In Iran, many laws differ between how they are written and how they are applied in practice. A Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim man. According to the letter of the law, a man can get a divorce simply by declaring it verbally, not even necessarily in his wife's presence. However, most divorces ending in mutual agreement between a husband and a wife end up in court. Divorced women are likely to lose custody of the children, especially if they are financially dependent on alimony. Women need their husbands' or guardians' permission to travel abroad, so they cannot go abroad unless they have their husbands' or fathers' permission to leave the country. Women arriving at airports sometimes have their permissions revoked by their husbands and are prevented from boarding.

Amidst all of this, Ireland is set to reopen an embassy in Tehran before the end of 2023. I visited our embassy there in 1997. The Iranians are similar to the Irish people. They are warm and welcoming, and they even have a road called Bobby Sands Street in Tehran. We have connections with Iran. However, we need to stand up now. We need to consider why we are reinstating the embassy. We closed it in 2012 as a cost-cutting exercise. I am sure we are not in a better position to reopen it now. The rationale for this decision seems to flow from Ireland's election to the UN Security Council and our role as a facilitator in the 2015 deal struck on Iran's nuclear programme, which places limits on that programme in return for relieving sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran. As always, though, diplomatic handshakes herald business handshakes.One cannot imagine that this move is divorced from the fact that Iran is seen as offering a major growth opportunity for Irish companies exporting goods, particularly medical devices and agricultural products. It would send a strong signal to the Iranian Government if we were to take a stand and show that Ireland is not in the business of deepening diplomatic ties with governments that are engaged in ongoing human rights violations, particularly against young women and girls.

The Iranian Government has imposed severe and extensive Internet blackouts and blocked numerous digital services around the country. Despite constant innovations in the realm of Internet censorship workarounds, there is still no easy, affordable and broad way to restore digital access to people whose governments are actively blocking such access. The Iranian Government is even cutting access to many video games because of their chat function. Some communication services have systems in place for attempting to skirt digital blockades. The secure messaging application Signal, for example, offers tools so people around the world can set up proxy servers that securely relay Signal traffic, bypassing government filters. Can other social media or instant messaging services do the same? I call on the Minister to use his powers, where he can, to help in that regard.

Barry Ward (Fine Gael)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. Tá mé ag féachaint ar an rún seo agus mé ag smaoineamh go bhfuilimid i gcónaí ag labhairt faoin Úcráin agus na huafáis atá ag tarlú ann. Tá fadhbanna sa tSín agus i dtíortha eile ar fud an domhain agus uafáis den chineál céanna ar siúl iontu ach ní bhíonn an seans againn go minic labhairt faoin Iaráin agus na huafáis atá ag tarlú ansin. Ba cheart dúinn é sin a dhéanamh agus sin é an fáth go gcuirim fáilte roimh an rún seo agus táim buíoch do mo chomhghleacaithe i bhFianna Fáil a chur romhainn é.

The funny thing is, although it is not really funny, that when one looks at Iran over the decades, it has presented a very different face to the world. In pictures of Tehran from the 1970s there are women dressed in mini skirts, fashionable clothes and what we would consider to be normal dress as they walked around the city in a relatively free and relatively normal, at least by western standards, environment. After the fall of the Shah, religious zealotry and extremism took over. A series of measures have been put in place, including the morality police, a term that is disgusting in every possible respect and the people in Iran, but particularly women, have suffered the most extraordinary restrictions on their personal liberty and their freedom of expression and speech. It is such a retrograde act for Iran to take those backward steps. Of course, we are looking at it through western eyes but we are also looking at it through human eyes. When we look at what happened, it is very difficult to justify the changes and the extraordinary suppression that have taken place.

As I said at the outset, so often in this Chamber we have discussed the problems that exist following the awful illegal invasion of Ukraine, for example, or the suppression of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang in China and the genocide that is occurring there. I have also raised Belarus in this Chamber on many occasions and much of what we are talking about now, in a slightly different way, echoes what is happening in Belarus. The suppression of individual citizens by a government is very much there and is what we have heard about, particularly in recent days, in Iran. That said, it is not a new development by any measure. Iran does not link itself with good human rights practices. We know that. This is not a surprise and yet, in recent days and weeks, we have seen the most extraordinary outcry from ordinary women who have had enough of the suppression of their freedom of expression and who have taken steps that are brave beyond measure. Theirs is a bravery that we cannot possibly understand coming from the comfort of a stable and fair western democracy where human rights are respected. The women who have been mentioned by Senator Chambers in her contribution deserve not just our admiration and respect but our support.

When we talk about human rights, we must accept that talk is not enough. We have to do more than that. As we look at the scenes in Tehran and elsewhere, we see people who are being oppressed, murdered, beaten down and brutally subjected to the authority of a state that has no authority, in my view. What would we do if those people were our daughters, sisters, mothers or friends, or if we knew them? We feel like we know some of them but we do not. It is an unfortunate consequence of diplomacy that we sometimes sit by and watch these things happen but I do not agree with Senator Keogan that we should not continue to have diplomatic relations with Iran. It is incredibly important that we build diplomatic relations but not on a false pretence and not without speaking truth to these people. The Minister and I have had conversations about the actions of other countries and how it is important for Ireland to stand up to them, not just in the context of the UN Security Council but also in the context of our diplomatic position in the world, as a country that respects the rule of law. We have spoken of the importance of the ability of the Minister for Foreign Affairs to speak to his counterpart in Iran or any other country and say that we cannot tolerate this, that it is not good enough and that we cannot continue to allow it to happen. We are not a great military power. We are not a country that is ever likely to engage in the kind of action that would cause the Iranian Government to sit up and take serious notice but we do have power. We have soft power. We have our own voice to use.

One of the things that must come from this motion is a determination to say to the Minister's counterparts in Iran and to our counterparts in Iran, if we ever get to speak to them, that this is not acceptable and that it does down the ordinary Iranian people who have been mentioned in this debate. I have travelled to Iran and have found ordinary Iranians to be decent people who want to live decent, ordinary and peaceful lives but they are governed by a litter of rogues, bullies and murderers who absolutely insist on imposing their view of the world on their citizens, particularly their female citizens. Frustrating as it is, I would really like the Minister to give us some insight into what he thinks we can do about this. What steps can Ireland take? What steps can we take, either as a Legislature or as a Government, to send a message to Iran that Ireland will not and cannot stand by and cannot quieten its voice when it comes to the awful, appalling, disgusting and insufferable situation that we are witnessing on our screens, the Internet, television news programmes and elsewhere? What can we do? What are we going to do? How are we going to stand with the women of Iran and tell their Government that this is not okay?

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call the next speaker I want to welcome Deputy Holly Cairns to the Public Gallery for tonight's debate. Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile is next.

Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh agus cuirim féin fáilte roimh an Aire chuig an díospóireacht anocht. Fáiltím an seal ní hamháin labhairt ar an rún atá ós ár gcomhair ach tacú leis go huile is go hiomlán chomh maith.

The Minister is very welcome. I want to begin by expressing my sympathy and that of Sinn Féin to the family and friends of Zhina Mahsa Amini. Zhina was the woman's Kurdish name. She was killed following her arrest by the grotesquely named and sinister morality police. Sinn Féin supports this timely and important motion from Senator Chambers. The women of Iran, Kurdish women and all women, as well as those across the country who are supporting them in their campaigns for progressive change in human rights, are in desperate need of expressions of solidarity internationally, especially at this most challenging time. Cosúil le mo chomhghleacaí, an Seanadóir Ward, ba mhaith liom a chloisteáil faoi na céimeanna gur féidir linn a ghlacadh anseo in Éirinn chun tacú go praiticiúil leo siúd atá ag streachailt faoi láthair. The Iranian Government must hear those expressions, especially in parliamentary institutions such as this. Today in this Chamber we stand with all the women of Iran. We also stand with women suffering oppression elsewhere around the world and with the women who are resisting that oppression all over the world, not least in places like Palestine.

I thank Senator Chambers for tabling this motion and giving us an opportunity this evening to express our unequivocal condemnation of the outrageous and violent response of the Iranian authorities to the widespread and spontaneous outbreak of peaceful protests across the country. I also want to echo the calls of my colleague Deputy Brady in the Dáil last week for the Minister to call in the Iranian ambassador to register the Irish Government's protest at the death of Zhina Amini and the manner in which the authorities in Iran have responded to the ongoing protests.Sinn Féin has called for an independent inquiry to determine the exact cause of the death of Jina Mahsa Amini. This inquiry must be independent and transparent. I call on the Government to use its position on the UN Security Council to ensure the fate of this current protest movement does not follow the course of previous rounds of protests, when widespread arrests and state violence ended hopes of reform.

We have witnessed the arbitrary arrest of journalists and other chroniclers of the protests, along with the closure of the Internet, as noted by many colleagues already. As the Minister is aware, these attacks are an attack on free speech. They also have all the appearance of an attack on the Kurdish people and Kurdish self-determination. It is important that we do not lose sight of that in the context of this latest struggle. The international community at all levels must use its influence to make sure the Iranian authorities end their violent and lethal crackdown on protesters.

The Iranian authorities must arrest and bring to justice the killers of Jina Mahsa Amini. Her family and friends deserve nothing less than full justice for this appalling crime. We remember all those killed, as noted by Senator Chambers in her opening remarks, feasta. The killers of Jina Amini need to be uncovered, named and held to account.

I offer my support for the right of the Iranian people, particularly the women of Iran, to exercise their right to protest at the suppression of their human rights. It is an offence against human decency that in this day and age a woman would be prosecuted because a male-dominated regime has decreed that women must be forced to wear a particular headdress to protect their honour. As my colleague, Seanadóir Boylan, stated on the Order of Business today, women must be free to choose what they want to wear and where, when and how they want to wear it.

This is not the first time we have witnessed outbreaks of protests across Iran by ordinary people seeking human rights equality and dignity. In these circumstances, every avenue open to the institutions of government in this State must be used. The women of Iran, Kurdish and otherwise, deserve nothing less than full justice, dignity and respect from the Iranian authorities. Like Senator Ward, I look forward to hearing what practical steps we can take to support and show our solidarity with those protesting in Iran at the moment.

Rebecca Moynihan (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister to the House and commend Senator Chambers on tabling this timely motion on women's rights in Iran. We have seen photographs of life in the 1970s, with women marching down streets in Tehran wearing very fashionable 1960s and 1970s clothing. That changed after the overthrow of the Shah and the installation of Ayatollah Khomeini. Women in Iran had equal divorce rights at a time when women in Ireland could not get a barring order against a violent partner and would not get the right to divorce until 20 years later. Women in Iran had the right to work and could even become judges. In Ireland, the marriage ban was not ended until 1973 and, at the time, women could not serve on juries.

The brutal abuse of Mahsa Amini and her death while in the custody of the Iranian authorities serve as a stark reminder that the rights of women across the globe are not guaranteed and that they can be rolled back. The first protests against headscarves in Iran, which did not become mandatory until the 1980s, happened three weeks after Ayatollah Khomeini arrived back to the country on an aeroplane from New York. Since then, there have been mass protests in 1999, 2005, 2009, 2017 and 2019 and there have been extremely brave women such as human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and, more recently, Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was sentenced to prison for 38 years - she is on medical leave - simply for defending women's right not to wear a headscarf. It was brought home much closer to our shores by the five-year prison detention of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratclifffe, who only this year was released back to her family. During a visit to her family in Iran, she was detained unlawfully for five years. A former British Government and Prime Minister left her there, and nearly caused her to be held there for much longer.

The recent death in custody of Mahsa Amini is just a new iteration of the same oppressive actions of the regime that have been going on since 1979. The morality police was set up to ensure that women adhere to the Islamic dress code and is the force responsible for the arrest, detention and untimely death of Mahsa. We are currently seeing the largest ever rising up of the women's rights movement in Iran. There is political will for change but those women alone cannot take on the might of an oppressive regime that has been in place since 1979. The beating heart of women's rights in Iran has never quite gone away, but it has not had the support of the international community, partly because Iran is a nuclear power and partly because it is too important on the world stage.

The citizens of Iran are currently under an Internet blackout, which is a clear violation of their right to freedom of expression. In effect, it is stopping Iranian people detailing what is happening to them inside the borders of Iran and co-ordinating the protests in a manner similar to that at the time of the Arab Spring revolution in 2011. It is evident that the situation is dire and that women are under threat of persecution by the morality police and attack by the security forces for exercising fundamental rights of freedom of expression, assembly and protest and to choose what one wears. These are very simple freedoms that we take for granted but that Iranian women do not have.

I wish to touch on something Senator Ó Donnghaile said regarding the fact that Mahsa was Kurdish. Kurdish people are being exploited and brutalised not just in Iran but throughout the region, in the countries that straddle what should be an independent Kurdistan.

How should the Oireachtas and the Irish people support this fight? We need to use our diplomatic will and fight and our role on the UN Security Council to condemn the Iranian Government for what it is doing. We need to put forward the call for women to have the right to choose what they wear, for people to have the right to go on to third level education, for women to have the right to divorce and for the marriage age for women in Iran to be increased. I do not want to walk away from the Chamber without us having a clear ask of the Minister in terms of what he can do, particularly in the context of Ireland's membership of the UN Security Council, to support women in Iran and let them know, among all the other revolutions and protests they have had, this one will not be in vain. It will not go away because the will is there among women in Iran. We now need international will to support the largest women's rights revolution, which is happening before our eyes.

Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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I thank the Minister for coming to the House and, in particular, I thank Fianna Fáil for tabling the motion. I am always apprehensive when I come to the Chamber to speak on motions, especially on issues that are nuanced and complex, about making sure I hit the right tone. We need to consider what solidarity actually looks like, what liberation means and the type of impact we can have. The online conversations on this issue in recent weeks and the actions of various types of groups and opportunistic activists that co-opt situations such as this for their own gain in a very negative way, make me apprehensive in the context of how we speak in this Chamber and the issues we discuss. These are issues that we should be talking about and on which we should be demanding change but, in so doing, we need to be careful to watch out for that interventionist ideology in terms of further oppressing Iranian people through sanctions, the removing of diplomacy and those types of things. Obviously I condemn in the strongest terms the repression that has been mounted in response to the nationwide protests in Iran, with security forces applying brutal violence and targeting young people, especially those from the Kurdish and Baloch regions.I want to express my solidarity with those who are fighting and have fought for so long.

We need to be careful in our conversations and in the discourse surrounding this as I think we can risk co-opting Mahsa Amini’s death. We need to be careful of the platforming of voices that are calling for intervention, which has happened somewhat in this Chamber today although not in the motion, in regard to the imposition of sanctions on Iran, or restricting the agency of Iranian or Kurdish women who have long resisted state violence, while underplaying the historic trajectory of a contemporary feminist movement in Iran. This evening, I have instead chosen to platform their voices in my contribution, drawing from a number of articles and petitions circulating online which speak to the realities of what has long been a struggle for human rights and equality in Iran.

The Iranian women's struggle for equality long predates these latest protests, preceding the 1905 constitutional revolution and continuing in various forms through many political crises and coups in the 20th century, including the imposition of Sharia law through the Iranian revolution in 1979. What we are witnessing at the moment is a continuation of a revolutionary movement which has existed for over 100 years for women's basic rights.

While the international attention in recent weeks has forged networks of solidarity around the world which could help to confront state violence, imperialism, patriarchy and capitalism globally, it has also reinvigorated interventionists, oppressive discourse and opportunistic activism. Claiming solidarity with Iranian women while also supporting exclusionary conceptions of womanhood that facilitate violence against trans people is tokenistic at best and erases the struggle of LGBTQ+ communities that have also been the target of state violence in Iran. Advocating for human rights and freedom of Iranian women while aligning oneself with movements which seek to restrict women's control of their own bodies is illogical. Calling for the imposition of further sanctions or hostile foreign policy towards Iran fails to recognise the fact that these responses have historically worsened the living conditions of marginalised people, including many women in Iran.

Up to 2022, Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world. Reports have found that sanctions have caused unnecessary suffering to Iranian citizens, who are inflicted with a range of diseases and medical conditions which disproportionately impact women and vulnerable groups. While the West has long claimed solidarity with Iranians, the sanctions we have put in place have crippled their economy and restricted the agency of Iranians to push for change on their own terms. The latest moment in the long struggle for freedom and justice for Iranian women must not be appropriated as a pawn with which to justify interventionism, Western-backed regime change or the imposition of widespread economic, political and psychological suffering through sanctions.

I want to conclude by reading into the record part of an article written by Yasmin Gholizadeh, which calls for a particular type of solidarity from the international community. It reads:

When calling for solidarity with Iranian protesters resisting state violence, we must ... look towards simultaneously resisting the imperial structures that have disproportionately impacted the lives of women in Iran. Solidarity to Iranian and Kurdish women involves holding imperial powers and opportunists accountable for hijacking the protests to justify sanctions that have strangled a population.

Our international solidarity must be radical, opposed to all co-option, and remain rooted within the grassroots, across all borders; we cannot legitimise the very structures of sanctions and border legislation that have harmed Iranians for so long.

... Instead of calling on international powers to intervene, we must defend the agency of Iranian and Kurdish women to imagine and fight for liberation on their own terms.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. I see from a response to a parliamentary question that he gave on 6 October that he has taken a very strong line on this issue. The Minister stated:

I am deeply concerned about the unjustifiable and disproportionate response of the Iranian authorities to Iranian citizens protesting against the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody after her arrest for allegedly violating dress code regulations. Ireland does not believe that anything short of full equality for women should be the objective, anywhere in the world. No woman should lose her life because of how she chooses to dress herself.

The Minister also commended the women and men of Iran, as we should, for the way they have publicly taken on this situation against fierce opposition from a Government that is very dictatorial. The Minister also met with the Iranian foreign minister to express his concern on behalf of the Irish Government and the Irish people. I welcome his strong line on this.

Mahsa Amini is another victim of Iran’s continuing repression and organised discrimination against women, and many in this Chamber today have repeated that particular line. We must at all times, even in this country and even though we are a long way from Iran, stand up for these people and these women because they are entitled to freedom of opinion, expression and belief. I am glad to see that this Chamber is totally condemning the violence against women and the denial of basic human dignity when imposing compulsory hijab policy designed by the state authorities.

Many of the speakers before me have spoken about the brave people who have stood up. There are many journalists in Iran today who are imprisoned because of the death of this young lady and because of what the authorities have done. I refer to Nilufar Hamidi, a women's rights activist who wrote about this situation and is now in solitary confinement. There are also many others and, for example, Saeed Rashido has also been jailed due to speaking out on this matter. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for all of those journalists in Iran to be released right away.

We talk about morality and our belief and understanding of the word “morality”. When I look up the word "morality", it stands for ethics and nobility. I cannot even understand why these police are called "morality police". The western world is right to stand against the Iranian authorities and to support these women against this type of abuse and beatings. We are now told that tanks are going to be moved into Kurdish areas to try to prevent more protests. We must stand with these very brave people, we must stand for those women's rights and we must at all times back our Government and our Minister. I applaud my party colleague, Senator Chambers, for bringing this matter before the House and I know she has been quite passionate about it. I applaud all Members for speaking out here this evening. That is my full contribution. I do not think anybody should shy away from doing what is the right thing.

Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to the Chamber and thank him for his time. The motion is aimed at expressing our solidarity with the people of Iran, particularly the women and girls who are fighting for basic human freedoms. Like all Members, I am sure, I have seen clips online of these women standing up for themselves and each other despite the great personal risk they are taking on in doing so. Their courage is inspiring. I recognise that we live in a world where different countries have different cultures and different values, but there is no excuse for violence against women, no excuse for discrimination against women and no excuse for women not to have basic human rights, which is something the women of Iran face on a daily basis.

As Members will be aware, the death of Mahsa Amini was the spark for these protests. She was arrested for not wearing a hijab and, according to reports, beaten severely by the police for this, ultimately leading to her death days later in hospital. That such a thing can happen in 2022 is beyond belief. I can only hope that her death will bring about long overdue change in Iran and that these protests will achieve their aims. As all Members do, I am sure, I join the global calls for Iran to stop the excessive use of force which has so far been its response to these protests and resulted in at least eight more deaths. Iran must change for the good of its people and the good of the country. May Mahsa Amini and others who have suffered a similar fate at the hands of the Iranian police rest in peace and may their deaths not be in vain.I commend the Minister, Deputy Coveney, on his work in this area. I compliment Senator Chambers for bringing this motion before the House this evening.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Members of the Seanad for the time they have offered for this important topic. In particular, I thank Senator Chambers for drafting this motion, which I am happy to support. I am particularly happy to have this debate on the International Day of the Girl, which is also appropriate.

I extend my condolences, as other have, to the family of Mahsa Amini and commend them on their bravery in focusing the attention of the world on the tragic and unnecessary death of their daughter. No woman should lose her life because of how she chooses to dress. No one in detention should be subjected to any form of mistreatment.

I also take this opportunity to commend the women and men of Iran who have exercised their fundamental right to assemble in protest. I also offer my condolences to the families and loved ones of all those who have lost their lives in protests since the death of Mahsa Amini on 16 September.

It is unacceptable that Mahsa Amini was arrested for alleged dress code violations by the Iranian morality police and that she was then subjected to such violence in detention to the extent that she lost her life. Ireland does not believe that anything short of full equality for women should be the objective anywhere in the world. The circumstances of Mahsa’s death have understandably led to protests across Iran but also in other parts of the world. I am deeply concerned about the unjustifiable and disproportionate response of the Iranian authorities to those Iranian citizens who are peacefully protesting. This response has resulted in further loss of life as well as a large number of injuries. People in Iran have the right to peacefully protest, as does anyone. That right must be ensured in all circumstances.

Iran has signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and has adopted the Beijing declaration and platform for action, which commits Iran to ensure the full implementation of the human rights of women and girls as an integral and indivisible part of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. Iran is also party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ICCPR. I call on Iranian authorities to strictly abide by the principles enshrined in the ICCPR, including the right to peaceful assembly.

The decision to severely restrict Internet access by Iranian authorities and to block instant messaging platforms is a further cause for concern and is a clear violation of freedom of expression.

On 21 September last, I met with the Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, at the UN General Assembly high level week in New York. I relayed to him my deep concerns regarding the circumstances of Ms Amini’s detention and death. I spoke with him again by phone last Thursday. In our conversations I advised the Iranian minister that it is crucial that an independent and credible investigation into the circumstances of Mahsa Amini’s death is carried out and that those responsible for violence against her are held accountable. I also relayed to him the unequivocal condemnation from across the political spectrum in Ireland of the death of Mahsa Amini and the response of the Iranian security forces to peaceful protests. It is very clear in the statements this evening that all parties and none are speaking from the same position. In addition, I reminded the minister of the obligations Iran has as a party to the ICCPR.

The family of Mahsa Amini have objected to the findings of the Iranian coroner’s report, which was released last Friday and claimed that Mahsa Amini died due to pre-existing conditions. Mahsa’s parents deserve to know the truth about how their 22-year-old daughter died. I repeat my call here today to the Iranian Government to allow for an independent investigation into the cause of her death.

While the case of Mahsa Amini has rightly attracted worldwide attention, unfortunately it is far from unique in Iran. The status of women and girls in Iran is very worrying. Iran is one of only four countries which have not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. While there is a high level of enrolment of women in all levels of education in Iran, under the civil code women continue to be deprived of equal rights to men in marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance. There is no law to prevent violence against women, including gender-based violence such as marital rape, to prohibit child marriage or to prosecute abusers. Gender equality remains inadequate in the economic sphere and, in particular, in the political sphere. There are laws on chastity and on dress codes which apply only to women. Iran is the only country in the world which legally requires non-Muslim women to wear a headscarf. In November 2021, the President of Iran signed into law a Bill which limits access to contraception and abortion.

The human rights situation in the country has long been of great concern, including the treatment of religious and ethnic minorities, political activists , journalists and human rights defenders. Citizens of Iran do not fully enjoy fundamental freedoms to which they are entitled, such as freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. I know Members of this House and of the other House have mentioned to me the situation of the Baha’i community. There are numerous and credible reports of torture and ill-treatment of those detained in Iranian prisons. Ireland has not hesitated to raise these concerns directly with Iran. I have raised these issues when I have met with the minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in the past number of weeks, as I have mentioned previously, and when I visited Tehran in February of this year. I have always been clear in letting him know of our concerns regarding the treatment of women in Iran as well as of Ireland’s other long-standing concerns on human rights in Iran, including those of LGBTQI+ persons, respect for freedom of religious belief, and, of course, the use of the death penalty, which we have been very consistent on.

The current UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran took up his position in 2018 and is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council, HRC, under Resolution 37/30 to monitor and investigate human rights violations in Iran and to submit reports to the General Assembly and the HRC. I have expressed my concern directly to the Iranian foreign minister that Iran is preventing the special rapporteur from even visiting the country. The HRC mandate also calls on Iran to co-operate fully with the special rapporteur and to permit him to access the country.

I have also encouraged Iran to facilitate a visit to Tehran by the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, who many in this House will know well, and to engage with the European Union on human rights issues on a formal and structured basis. The EU holds human rights dialogues with more than 30 countries to discuss topics of particular importance to the EU, including women’s rights, freedom of expression and combating torture. While I have delivered a message at the highest level to the Iranian Government, I certainly will not hesitate to summon the Iranian ambassador in Dublin if I believe that is helpful at a future date. Officials from my Department are in regular contact with the embassy and just yesterday we relayed again our concerns regarding the situation in Iran directly to its ambassador.

As Senators will be aware, next year Ireland plans to reopen our embassy in Tehran which we closed for financial reasons in 2012. The first phase of this process began in August 2021 with the appointment of a chargé d'affaires co-located with the German Embassy in Tehran. Part of the reason for this decision is that Ireland has an important diplomatic role in respect of the Iranian nuclear deal, which is known as the joint comprehensive plan of action or JCPOA. On joining the UN Security Council in 2021, Ireland was appointed as facilitator to Resolution 22/31 which relates to the implementation of the JCPOA. Ireland strongly supports the Iranian nuclear deal. It was a major achievement of multilateral diplomacy and we believe it is the best mechanism for ensuring the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme. We are, therefore, deeply concerned by the steps Iran has taken on its nuclear programme since the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018, including the irreversible nature of some of those activities.The US, under President Biden, has indicated its willingness to return to the deal, and talks began in Vienna in April 2021. I have engaged extensively with all parties to the deal and urged them to work with urgency towards the full restoration of the agreement, which has been extremely close. This has included extensive political level contact with Iran on nuclear issues, including in my recent discussions with the Iranian foreign minister and during my visit to Tehran last February. Preserving the deal is essential to strengthening non-proliferation in the Middle East to act as an important security and confidence-building measure in the region and potentially create a platform for an improved relationship with Iran and its neighbours.

The death of Mahsa Amini and the protests in Iran have rightly attracted worldwide condemnation. Discussions are already under way within the EU on an appropriate response, including asset freezes and travel bans affecting the specific individuals and entities responsible for the repression we have seen in recent weeks. I agree with some that we need to be cautious in how we apply sanctions, but the EU, unlike many countries in the world, generally applies sanctions in a very targeted manner. The widespread sanctions that have impacted the Iranian economy are very much linked to the breakdown of the nuclear deal, and these are quite separate from the targeted measures of the EU concerning human rights abuses. It is important to make that distinction. I will be discussing this matter with my EU colleagues at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting next Monday in Luxembourg and I expect there will be a firm and united response.

When I spoke to the Iranian Foreign Minister last week, I was very straight with him and said that unless there is a credible investigation into the circumstances of Mahsa Amini's death and a proportionate response to the legitimate demands of peaceful protesters, there will be a clear EU response. Threats of retaliation by Iran, which we have heard, will certainly not impact the EU's determination in responding.

I thank the Senators for the debate. In particular, I thank Senator Chambers. I will take the very strong views of this Chamber to the conversations we will have at EU level. That is how Ireland can be most impactful. Whether it is at UN level, at the Security Council, or at EU level, through collective EU action, Ireland is influential beyond its size. We need to use that influence and our credibility appropriately at times like this. I hope I will be able to do that on behalf of the Senators successfully next week.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Deputy Devlin to the Visitors Gallery. I call on Senator Chambers to respond.

Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for that comprehensive and detailed reply. I thank all Members for contributing to the debate. Its quality was excellent. Senators are very informed on the issue. It is important that the Oireachtas debate these issues. We have spoken a lot this evening about the actions Ireland can take. Even having this debate to call out the human rights abuses for what they are is an important action. The abuses are unacceptable and disgraceful and will not be tolerated. That is a powerful message to send from our Parliament, through our Government, to the Iranian Government and the Foreign Minister with whom the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, engages regularly.

It is important also that we consider Ireland's actions. I take on board what Senator Ruane has said about sanctions. It is important that we do not take action that makes us feel good about what we are doing when that action does not have the desired outcome. Our actions should be informed by what the Iranian people themselves want by way of support from us.

Many Members spoke about what has occurred over recent decades. What has been happening has not just happened in recent weeks. There has been an ongoing movement to fight for and advocate women's rights. What has changed in recent years is that we see more and now know what is happening. It is so much more publicised. No matter how hard the Iranian Government tries to lock down the Internet, prevent discourse and debate and prevent videos from being posted online, we see what is happening and what it is doing. We will not forget it. That is important. In the past decade, we have had access to more information and are so much more connected as a global community.

Regarding what is frightening about what is happening, Senator Moynihan spoke about the changes that took place between the early 1970s and when the Shah fell in 1979. In the early 1970s and earlier, women in Iran enjoyed many of the freedoms they do not enjoy today. It is a matter of a side-by-side comparison accounting for how far Ireland has come as a country in improving women's rights. The way we treated women in this country not so long ago was horrific and we are still dealing with the fallout. The scars are still very much evident on women today because of what this country has been through. Therefore, we are not speaking from a position of judgment but acknowledging, as Senator Moynihan did, that women's rights are not guaranteed and can always be reversed if we do not remain vigilant. We must always stand up for what we believe are basic human rights and for dignity for all citizens, be they women or men.

In my opening remarks, I did not mention the women of Afghanistan. Let us not forget their plight and that what is happening in Iran is also happening in other parts of the world. I fear that we and the international community have become very silent about what is happening in Afghanistan. I do not see any significant or serious steps being taken to try to deal with the issue, which has arisen only very recently. I sincerely hope the protests that have been taking place in recent weeks in Iran will not be in vain and that change will come about. I hope the deaths of Mahsa Amini and other women who have lost their lives, including teenage girls, will not be in vain and that we will see genuine liberation of women in Iran and the upholding of the basic freedoms to assemble, protest and live one's life as desired. That is the hope I hold for the women of Iran.

I wish to finish by using the statement Iranian women are making: "Woman, life, freedom".

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I thank all the Senators who contributed to this important debate. I thank the Minister for coming to the House to respond to it.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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When is it proposed to sit again?

Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail)
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Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.