This briefing examines how discrimination against minorities has contributed to rising tensions and long-standing grievances in Iran. It highlights patterns of repression of minority activism, languages and cultures, and to varying degrees, the exclusion of ethnic and religious minorities from public life and economic development. In particular, the briefing focuses on the experiences of ethnic minorities in the borderland regions of the country where the centralizing impulse of the Islamic Republic of Iran has manifested itself in the attempted assimilation of minorities, repression of regional demands for self-governance and periodic episodes of violence. Using a minority rights lens, the briefing contextualises and historicises the social uprising that was sparked in September 2022 with the custodial death of Jina Amini, also known as Mahsa Amini. It provides insight into some of the conditions that have fuelled protestor demands in recent years including, environmental problems, political corruption, widespread economic crises and repression of civil society. This briefing ultimately emphasizes identity-based discrimination as a root cause of many conditions that led to the 2022 civil society uprising. Although the political future of Iran remains uncertain and the pathway of change is unclear at the time of writing, this briefing argues that a peaceful and prosperous future for minorities cannot be secured unless efforts are undertaken to address long-standing and structural discrimination at all levels. While this briefing focuses on discrimination against minorities, a detailed and complementary analysis and account of gender-based discrimination in Iran can be found in the report ‘Beyond the Veil: Discrimination against women in Iran’ by Minority Rights Group International, Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights and Centre for Supporters of Human Rights.

This briefing examines how discrimination against minorities has contributed to rising tensions and long-standing grievances in Iran. It highlights patterns of repression of minority activism, languages and cultures, and to varying degrees, the exclusion of ethnic and religious minorities from public life and economic development. In particular, the briefing focuses on the experiences of ethnic minorities in the borderland regions of the country where the centralizing impulse of the Islamic Republic of Iran has manifested itself in the attempted assimilation of minorities, repression of regional demands for self-governance and periodic episodes of violence. Using a minority rights lens, the briefing contextualises and historicises the social uprising that was sparked in September 2022 with the custodial death of Jina Amini, also known as Mahsa Amini. It provides insight into some of the conditions that have fuelled protestor demands in recent years including, environmental problems, political corruption, widespread economic crises and repression of civil society. This briefing ultimately emphasizes identity-based discrimination as a root cause of many conditions that led to the 2022 civil society uprising. Although the political future of Iran remains uncertain and the pathway of change is unclear at the time of writing, this briefing argues that a peaceful and prosperous future for minorities cannot be secured unless efforts are undertaken to address long-standing and structural discrimination at all levels.While this briefing focuses on discrimination against minorities, a detailed and complementary analysis and account of gender-based discrimination in Iran can be found in the report ‘Beyond the Veil: Discrimination against women in Iran’ by Minority Rights Group, Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights and Centre for Supporters of Human Rights.

"The present guide offers information related to norms and mechanisms developed to protect the rights of persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities. It includes detailed information about procedures and forums in which minority issues may be raised to minorities and by also covering selected specialized agencies and regional mechanisms, the present Guide complements information contained in Working with the United Nations Human Rights Programme: A Handbook for Civil Society"--Introduction.

This is an open access book. The start of the 21st century has seen the world shaken by protests, from the Arab Spring to the Yellow Vests, from the Occupy movement to the social uprisings in Latin America. There are periods in history when large numbers of people have rebelled against the way things are, demanding change, such as in 1848, 1917, and 1968. Today we are living in another time of outrage and discontent, a time that has already produced some of the largest protests in world history. This book analyzes almost three thousand protests that occurred between 2006 and 2020 in 101 countries covering over 93 per cent of the world population. The study focuses on the major demands driving world protests, such as those for real democracy, jobs, public services, social protection, civil rights, global justice, and those against austerity and corruption. It also analyzes who was demonstrating in each protest; what protest methods they used; who the protestors opposed; what was achieved; whether protests were repressed; and trends such as inequality and the rise of women’s and radical right protests. The book concludes that the demands of protestors in most of the protests surveyed are in full accordance with human rights and internationally agreed-upon UN development goals. The book calls for policy-makers to listen and act on these demands.

The unique cultures of minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide – spanning a wide variety of customs and practices – are under threat. This year’s edition of State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples highlights the impact of land dispossession, forced assimilation and other forms of discrimination on the most fundamental aspects of their identity, including language, art, traditional knowledge and spirituality. But while the effects of this attrition can be devastating, minority and indigenous cultures have also been critical in strengthening communities and providing activists with a platform to fight for their rights. As this volume illustrates, ensuring that the cultural freedoms of minorities and indigenous peoples are protected is essential if their other rights are also to be respected.

The seventeen essays in Women and Power in the Middle East analyze the social, political, economic, and cultural forces that shape gender systems in the Middle East and North Africa. Published at different times in Middle East Report, the journal of the Middle East Research and Information Project, the essays document empirically the similarities and differences in the gendering of relations of power in twelve countries—Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iran. Together they seek to build a framework for understanding broad patterns of gender in the Arab-Islamic world. Challenging questions are addressed throughout. What roles have women played in politics in this region? When and why are women politically mobilized, and which women? Does the nature and impact of their mobilization differ if it is initiated by the state, nationalist movements, revolutionary parties, or spontaneous revolt? And what happens to women when those agents of mobilization win or lose? In investigating these and other issues, the essays take a look at the impact of rapid social change in the Arab-Islamic world. They also analyze Arab disillusionment with the radical nationalisms of the 1950s and 1960s and with leftist ideologies, as well as the rise of political Islamist movements. Indeed the essays present rich new approaches to assessing what political participation has meant for women in this region and how emerging national states there have dealt with organized efforts by women to influence the institutions that govern their lives. Designed for courses in Middle East, women's, and cultural studies, Women and Power in the Middle East offers to both students and scholars an excellent introduction to the study of gender in the Arab-Islamic world.

Why were urban women veiled in the early 1900s, unveiled from 1936 to 1979, and reveiled after the 1979 revolution? This question forms the basis of Hamideh Sedghi's original and unprecedented contribution to politics and Middle Eastern studies. Using primary and secondary sources, Sedghi offers new knowledge on women's agency in relation to state power. In this rigorous analysis she places contention over women at the centre of the political struggle between secular and religious forces and demonstrates that control over women's identities, sexuality, and labor has been central to the consolidation of state power. Sedghi links politics and culture with economics to present an integrated analysis of the private and public lives of different classes of women and their modes of resistance to state power.

The best country-by-country assessment of human rights. The human rights records of more than ninety countries and territories are put into perspective in Human Rights Watch's signature yearly report. Reflecting extensive investigative work undertaken by Human Rights Watch staff, in close partnership with domestic human rights activists, the annual World Report is an invaluable resource for journalists, diplomats, and citizens, and is a must-read for anyone interested in the fight to protect human rights in every corner of the globe.