Protest Closure of Iranian Women's Magazine

Alert Issued: February 12, 2008

With parliamentary elections around the corner in Iran, the free press and the right to freedom of expression are increasingly under fire.

Last week, the authorities shut down Zanan, the country's premier women's magazine. President Ahmadinejad said that Zanan showed Iranian women in a "black light" and was a threat to the psychological well being of Iranian society. Zanan had long argued that the legal discrimination suffered by women in Iran is not mandated by Islamic law and that therefore it can and should be changed.

Join us in demanding that Iran:

• Cancel the order to close the magazine and reinstate its press license.
• Ensure the safety of the staff of Zanan.
• Urge all branches of the government to respect the right to freedom of expression and the importance of a free and independent press.
  

Tell Me More

Zanan, which means "women" in Persian, was established in 1992 by Shahla Sherkat, who continues to serve as its managing director. There have been 152 issues of the magazine, many of which were produced despite financial trouble and political harassment. The magazine regularly runs articles dealing with women's health, parenting, and legal issues and is one of the most popular publications in the country.

On January 29, 2008, Zanan staff was notified by the Press Supervisory Council, an agency of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, that their license was to be cancelled immediately due to the psychological threat the magazine posed to Iranian society. According to reports, the specific article that caught the authorities' attention discussed the rape of a woman by two members of Basij Resistance Force, a paramilitary group with strong ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

Under the Press Law, the closure order should be reviewed by the Press Court before it is enforced. However, many publications have been indefinitely suspended and effectively closed on the basis of decisions of the Press Supervisory Council acting without judicial authorization. This is a violation of Iranian law.

According to an editorial in the Boston Globe, the magazine was also accused of having an 'extreme feminist stance.' Zanan has argued that the legal discrimination suffered by women in Iran is not mandated by Islamic law and that therefore it can and should be changed.

In the past two years, nearly 40 Iranian publications have had their licenses revoked or been banned by the Press Supervisory Council. The recent closure of Zanan thus represents an escalation in the long-standing trend of censoring the press and silencing those publications that provide space for discussion of the human rights situation in Iran.

Online media outlets have been particularly persecuted. Previously, for example, the websites of women's groups have been shut down (see HRF alert here). Reporters Without Borders gives Iran its worst possible ranking for press censorship and persecution.

Read a New York Times editorial here.

Read a Boston Globe editorial here.

Sample Letter

His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Head of the Judiciary
Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

CC.

His Excellency Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran


Your Excellency: 

I am writing to express my concern about the closure of the popular women's magazine Zanan. Its closure represents a fundamental violation of the right to freedom of expression as provided for in the Iranian Constitution, and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Iran is a State Party. I call on you to immediately cancel the order to close the magazine and reinstate its press license and urge all branches of the government to respect the right to freedom of expression and the importance of a free and independent press.

Zanan was established in 1992 by Shahla Sherkat, who continues to serve as its managing director. There have been 152 issues of the magazine spanning 16 years. The magazine regularly ran articles dealing with women's health, parenting, and legal issues and was one of the most popular publications in the country. Staff members of the magazine have been targeted for harassment in the past and I now fear for their safety.

On January 29, 2008, Zanan staff was notified by authorities from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance that their license was to be cancelled immediately due to the psychological threat the magazine posed to Iranian society. According to reports, the specific article that caught the authorities' attention discussed the rape of a woman by two members of Basij Resistance Force, a paramilitary group with strong ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

In the past two years, nearly 40 Iranian publications have had their licenses revoked or been banned by the government-run Press Supervisory Council. The revocation of Zanan's license thus represents a growing trend of censoring the press and silencing those publications that provide space for the discussion of the human rights situation in Iran.

I call on you to immediately cancel the order to close the magazine and reinstate its press license; ensure the safety of the staff of Zanan; and urge all branches of the government to respect the right to freedom of expression and the importance of a free and independent press.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. I will continue to closely monitor the situation of Zanan and its staff.