By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Nigeria on Wednesday joined seven other countries in voting to keep Iran on the United Nations Women’s Rights Commission, despite Iran’s violations of women’s rights.
The historic vote, a culmination of a long campaign by Iranian and international women’s activists, was conducted at the UN’s headquarters in New York City.
Twenty-nine countries voted in favor of Iran’s expulsion, eight countries voted against it, including Nigeria while Russia, and China, and 16 countries did not vote.
The US called for Iran’s removal from the group after Tehran took action to forcibly end protests sparked by the disputed death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian young woman who died in custody.
Linda Thomas Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, had said Iran’s continued membership was an “ugly stain” on the integrity of the commission. She asserted the UN known “for promoting gender equality and empowering women” cannot do “its important work if it’s being undermined from within.”
The resolution to “remove with immediate effect the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term” was approved by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) comprising 54 member states.
Ms Amini died mysteriously after being detained by Iran’s morality police on suspicion of violating the Islamic nation’s strict dress codes.
Ms Amini’s death sparked international outrage, with both local and international human rights organizations condemning Tehran. Women in Iran took to the streets to protest the death of one of their own
Some Nigerians have taken to social media to celebrate Iran’s expulsion from the commission while criticizing their government for voting to keep Iran on the commission despite its oppression of women.
