On Women, Kurds, and Baha’is: Identity discrimination by Iran

British and European policy-makers aren’t the only ones who will take great interest in this remarkable monograph published by the UK-based Foreign Policy Centre, available in its entirety online now, that looks at identity discrimination in Iran. Baha’is generally will find the analysis helpful in understanding how the pattern of discrimination affecting Baha’is in Iran also affects other marginalized groups there. Baha’i interest in human rights is across the board. -gw

The unique contribution of this report is its comparison of
three different groups – women, Baha’is and Kurds – that all
face discrimination and intensifying persecution in the Islamic
Republic of Iran. It may seem an odd choice to compare such
diverse experiences; other studies have looked only at
women, or at the treatment of religious or ethnic minorities.
What these groups have in common, however, is discrimination
on the basis of identity. Being a Baha’i, woman or Kurd
in Iran makes an individual vulnerable to injustice at the
hands of the state. These groups deserve our attention
because they face chronic persecution. The nature of this
persecution may change from time to time, and not all
members of a group will suffer, but pressure from the state
is constant and overbearing.

We have selected the cases of women, Kurds and Baha’is to
draw out the general characteristics of persecution based on
gender, ethnic or religious identity. By comparing these three
populations and drawing parallels between their experiences,
we identify systemic obstacles to equality that affect other
groups and minorities in Iran.

This report looks at the contours of state persecution of these
groups to draw lessons about the potential for change in Iran.

http://fpc.org.uk/fsblob/1013.pdf

Photo: “Kurds pray in North West Iran,” uploaded on October 10, 2008 by nicolas – نِيقُولاَوُسَ on flickr, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic