UN says Iran crackdown involved crimes against humanity
Thursday, 17 September 2026 17:29
A UN fact-finding mission said Thursday that Iranian security forces committed crimes against humanity in their crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran.
The finding, reported by Iran International, cited mass killings, torture and arbitrary detention. The protests followed the arrest of Mahsa Amini for “improper hijab,” which sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.
The movement drew women and men into the streets to demand an end to compulsory veiling and gender apartheid. In recent years, state security networks intensified enforcement through the Noor Plan, surveillance cameras, heavy financial penalties and other restrictions against women who defy compulsory veiling.
Iran’s state-supported push toward women’s equality began in the early 20th century under Reza Shah, who ruled from 1925 to 1941 and believed modernization required women’s active participation in public life. In 1936, he issued a decree compelling women to unveil.
Under Mohammad Reza Shah, who ruled from 1941 to 1979, reforms expanded into education, political participation, family law and the workplace. In 1963, Iranian women won the right to vote and run for office, and within a decade women held seats in parliament, served as cabinet ministers and worked as judges.
After 1979, the Family Protection Laws were dismantled, female judges were removed from the bench, the minimum marriage age for girls was lowered and compulsory veiling was progressively imposed. In March 1979, thousands marched in Tehran against compulsory veiling.
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