Iran’s International Position and CEDAW

Since 1962 Human Right Commission the issue of women’s right has gathered a great deal of attention and as the result three international women conference have been held. The first took place in Mexico 1975 and the last one in Beijing ended with the ratification of Beijing document,. CEDAW has been ratified by many countries of the world including Saudi Arabia. In Iran however, the ratification of the document has become an issue of debate. In spite of the fact that Iran has taken many steps to improve the position of women compared to countries like Saudi Arabia, the fact that Iran has not yet ratified CEDAW this provides ammunition for those who wish to isolate Iran and put Iran under international pressure. There is no doubt that signing the document could not put an end to such pressures but the type of pressure will be far less and its nature will be different. This is because much of the problems that women face in Iran are common to the region and in fact common to women throughout the South. Iran’s isolation will only hurt its international image and give further opportunity to those who benefit from portraying Iran black.