Iran (Islamic Republic of)

The deputy head of Tehran's police Hossein Sadjedi-Nia warned that women "dressed up like models" with overly short mantos (coats), tight outer garments, and inadequate headscarves would face being apprehended in the crackdown.
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Iran's conservative government is encouraging doctors and nurses to treat patients only of the same gender in a bid to bring healthcare in line with its Islamic laws.
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A spokesperson for Iran's judiciary announced yesterday that three Iranian-Americans, including academic and women's rights advocate Haleh Esfandiari, have been formally charged with endangering national security and espionage.
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Iran's former reformist president Mohammad Khatami Thursday vehemently denied breaking Islamic rules by shaking hands with women on a trip to Italy, amid growing condemnation from conservatives.
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Iran has sentenced a women's rights activist to flogging and almost three years in jail for taking part in a 2006 protest over "discriminatory" laws, the ILNA news agency reported Tuesday.
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Judicial authorities in Iran have sentenced two women activists who participated in a peaceful protest against discriminatory laws in June 2006 to more than 30 months in jail and ten lashes.
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Iranian-American scholar Haleh Esfandiari was released from prison in Iran on bail today, the ISNA news agency reports. Dr. Esfandiari had been detained for over 100 days on charges that she was an alleged threat to Iranian national security. Her bail was set for 3 billion rials (approximately $333,000).
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The women behind the Million Signatures Campaign say that many of Iran's laws discriminate against women. An Iranian woman does not automatically confer citizenship on her children or spouse, and in some cases a woman who marries a foreigner can lose her Iranian citizenship. Marriage and divorce laws also come under criticism.
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Parvin Ardalan, a leading Iranian women's rights activist, has won the Palme Award for her work and commitment to human rights.
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