On April 8 and 9, the first International Conference, the Voice of Rural Women was held in Ciudad Real, Spain. The meeting was held by AFAMMER association. High ranking Spanish political personalities as well as a number of other prominent international dignitaries also participated in this event.
delegation representing the Iranian Resistance was also present in this two-day conference discussing issues such as human rights, gender equality, employments and ridding the world of violence against women.
Ms. Carmen Quintanilla, head of the Spanish Parliament Women’s Commission and president of the AFAMMER Confederation introduced the Iranian Resistance’s delegation and stressed, “Today we have very important dignitaries in this panel, including the representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s Women’s Committee who are active and struggling for democracy, freedom and equality in Iran.”
Ms. Elaheh Arjmandi, member of the NCRI Women’s Committee addressed the conference and described the intensity of the crackdown against women in Iran under the rule of the mullahs’ regime and pointed to the decisive role of women in the Iranian Resistance.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance sent a video-message and stressed, “Although this reactionary force is creating disorder mostly in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, its adverse effects target women’s achievements the world over. Therefore, it is not only the enemy of Muslim women, but also the enemy of all women and humanity.
Confrontation of the ruling fundamentalist regime with women in Iran is an important aspect in the history of women’s universal struggle for freedom and equality.
The amazing extent of this confrontation can be seen in the torture and execution of tens of thousands of Iranian women which is unprecedented in our times.
For example, this regime has systematically denied women’s civil, individual and social rights.
Humiliating, arresting and whipping women to force obligatory veiling is part of the regime’s laws.
Women are deprived of most public rights and freedoms, even from watching matches in stadiums and from singing. They are systematically dismissed from social activities.
Mullahs interfere in all aspect of women’s lives to suppress them even further.
Fundamentalists see women as their most important social threat, because they seek and demand freedom and equality. Women’s demands and their determination pose the most dangerous threat to the fundamentalists. This is why the religious fascism ruling Iran has set a world record in the killing of female political activists.
Despite such tragic suppression, Iranian women are proud that they have never submitted to this regime but have proven their competence.
The one-thousand women who have pioneered the Iranian Resistance in the most difficult conditions of the past 12 years in Ashraf and Liberty are the promise of future freedom and liberation for women in Iran and the region. Resistance members have been repeatedly attacked and massacred. Seven residents, including six women, have been taken hostage.
Despite these repressive measures and the criminal blockade which has continued for seven years, these pioneering women have clearly demonstrated their competence in directing and leading the Resistance and in managing a social order based on equality. They have thus inspired the struggle of women and youths in Iran.
Today, the Iranian regime as the epicenter of Islamic fundamentalism, is the principal threat not only to women in Iran but for global peace and security.
Thus the world community must adopt a firm policy on Iran.
I would like to use this opportunity to call on you, my dear sisters and all participants in this congress, to actively support the women of Iranian Resistance.
I call on you to join the great Front of Women Against Fundamentalism and play your role in the struggle against this reactionary force that is endangering the entire world.”
