Lord of the Rings actor, Amnesty UK ambassador and Vital Voices partner has long campaigned on human rights abuses in Iran

 

‘Women’s Rights in Iran: What Next?’ discussion comes after four months of protests 

 

The actor and Amnesty International UK ambassador Nazanin Boniadi will speak about women’s rights in Iran at a panel event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this afternoon (Tuesday 17 January, 3pm local time). 

 

Boniadi, a UK-Iranian dual-national, has been campaigning for justice for Iranian protesters and for greater recognition of women’s rights in Iran.  

 

The panel event - entitled “Women’s Rights in Iran: What Next?” - will also feature the journalist and activist Masih Alinejad and the acting Executive Director of Human Rights Watch Tirana Hassan, with moderation by Rima Maktabi, US bureau chief of Al Arabiya.

 

Nazanin Boniadi is available for limited media interviews on 17 January.

Four months of protests

Amnesty is demanding that the Iranian Embassy in the UK supports independent investigations into the deaths and mass arbitrary detention of civilians in Iran, as well as the repeal of harsh discriminatory laws that impose compulsory veiling on women and girls in the country. 

 

There have been widespread protests in Iran since the death in custody on 16 September of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini who was arrested in relation to the veiling laws. The security forces have responded protests with unlawful lethal force, killing hundreds of men, women and children, and injuring thousands of others. Thousands have been arbitrarily arrested, dozens face possible death sentences after sham trials and at least four people have been executed.

Vital Voices event

Nazanin Boniadi will also speak at the Female Quotient’s Equality Lounge at Davos on Tuesday as part of a panel called “Women Taking on the World’s Greatest Challenges”. This will also include philanthropist, designer and Vital Voices board member Diane von Fursternberg and Vital Voices CEO Alyse Nelson. For more information on Vital Voices, go here.