International

Today, on International Women's Day, SP Member of Parliament Krista van Velzen joined an international protest demonstration for women's rights in Iran. After marching past the Iranian Embassy, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the International Court of Justice. Despite torrential rain, the mood was both cheerful and militant.

Women symbolically break their chains

Krista van Velzen expressed her solidarity with women standing up for their rights in Iran - or anywhere else. She also spoke about the harrowing situation in which the Dutch government continues to expel Iranian women despite the enormous dangers into which they would be placed should they return to their country. “Through protests such as this and the many others which are taking place,” she said, “we are making it clear to the Iranian regime that their abuses of human rights do not go unnoticed. The call for reforms in Iran is growing ever stronger, as can be seen from the number of people who are no longer prepared to keep quiet, the campaigning women activists, the students in Iran who are taking to the streets, the bus drivers who are on strike for their right to establish an independent trade union, and now also the women who are protesting on the streets against the fact that women in Iran are still subject to stoning and have no equality of rights. These oppositional forces deserve our active support!”