Wednesday 11th January 2012 | 09:25

Louise Ellman: It is vital that Parliament highlights the lack of political freedoms in Iran

Writing for PoliticsHome, Labour MP Louise Ellman says it is vital that Parliament highlights the lack of political freedoms in Iran and the millions who have faced persecution as a result.

2011 was a bad year for oppressive regimes as across the globe disenfranchised citizens took to the streets demanding democracy and basic human rights. Three dictatorships were toppled while many more grew fearful of their newly empowered populaces. In my debate in Westminster Hall, I want to bring attention to the abuse of human rights in Iran, with particular reference to the Bahá’ís.

Amnesty International describes Iran as a country with “severe restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly”. Millions of Iranians face persecution and discrimination simply on account of their gender, sexuality or political views. Women are denied equal rights and young girls can be forced to marry by their father. Being gay is punishable by death and the very existence of homosexuality has been denied by President Ahmadinejad.

The Bahá’í faith was founded in Iran in the mid-nineteenth century and today there are 300,000 Bahá’í’s living in Iran, where they face daily persecution and discrimination.

There is a nationwide government sponsored campaign against the Bahá’í community including arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, harassment of schoolchildren and the denial of access to higher education, jobs and business licenses.

Seven leaders of the Bahá’í community were detained in 2008 without charge or access to lawyers and initially faced execution. They have since been sentenced to 20 years in prison, sparking international condemnation. This is the most high profile incident and it is part of a pattern of repression; 102 Bahá’í’s are currently in prison and over 500 have been arrested since 2004.

Members of the community are also often denied access to education and employment. Higher education institutions remain largely closed to Bahá’í students and those who manage to gain entry are usually expelled before finishing their course. The job market remains hard to access and recent cases have been reported of shop-owners being forced to surrender their business licences.

It is vital that Members of Parliament highlight the lack of political freedoms in Iran and the millions who have faced persecution as a result. These abuses need to be bought to the forefront of popular consciousness. International organisations must put pressure on the Iranian authorities and hopefully bring about real change.

Louise Ellmanhas been Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside since 1997.