On December 14, 2022, the U.N. finalized the decision to eject Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the interglobal body dedicated to the improvement and promotion of gender equality and rights for women. This comes after months of intense and deadly crackdowns on the women’s rights protests held across the nation, allegedly due to the beatings and death of Mahsa Amini by Iran’s morality police, which rocked the nation in September. In Iran, law requires all women to wear head coverings, regardless of their religious affiliations or citizenship. Since September, protests have spread across the country, with several hundred protesters being killed since the protests started. 

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield called Iran’s membership an “ugly stain” on the commission. The U.S. had worked for weeks to remove Iran from the commission prior to the vote. “The reason why is straightforward. The Commission is the premier U.N. body for promoting gender equality and empowering women. It cannot do its important work if it is being undermined from within,” Thomas-Greenfield said. 

China, Russia, and others of the eight countries that voted against Iran’s expulsion from the commission and expressed their anger at the US for trying to change the rules after Iran’s election to the council. China's ambassador accused the U.S. with, "naked bullying, hypocrisy and double standards." Iran itself condemned the U.S. for its efforts to politicize women’s efforts. However, Israel's ambassador, Gilad Erdan, pointed out the UN’s hypocrisy with electing Iran to the council in the first place. “Iran should never have received a seat on the Commission on the Status of Women. This is only part of the moral distortion that has made the U.N. so impotent.” He said in a statement. A U.N. report released in March 2021 described Iran’s treatment of women and girls as “second-class citizens”. 

It was these reports of violence that eventually led 29 nations to vote for Iran’s removal from the commission. For the U.N., this is a monumental step in recognizing the ongoing political upheaval in Iran. Many activists are hopeful that this will allow for Iran to receive actual consequences on a national stage. Atena Daemi, a rights activist in Iran, said in a tweet that removing Iran on Wednesday was “a victory that is the result of 43 years of Iranian women saying no to the Islamic Republic’s misogynistic policies.”