Human Rights in Iran in 2010
Upon completely Iran Awakening, I was encouraged by the way Shirin Ebadi described the state of Iran. While human rights violations still existed and women still did not gain complete equality, progress was being rapidly made. Women did not need to wear a headscarf in public and, as Shirin says, “The morality police were by no means retired, but they went from omnipresent invaders to a periodic nuisance” (180). Shirin’s story could be read with a hopeful tone; she seemed to believe the worst of Iran’s human rights violations were over and would never be repeated. Unfortunately, Shirin’s memoir ends in 2003. In the last seven years, it seems Iran has only defaulted back its corruption and immorality. 
After reading several articles on the status of human rights in Iran, it is impossible to believe that Iran has done anything but regress. According to iranhr.net, public hangings are still occurring weekly. In fact, three men were hanged in southwestern Iran just this week. “According to the annual report published by Iran Human Rights, more than 400 people were executed in Iran in 2009” (iranhr.net). Spokespeople for human rights in Iran claim that public hangings are necessary to maintain order in Iran. Although Iran has been warned by several organisations to stop executions publically, they refuse to acknowledge the violation as an issue.
The US State Department issued a report saying, “Tehran’s human rights record was poor and, in the words of the report, ‘degenerated during the year, especially after disputed presidential elections in June’” (http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/US-Report–Irans-Human-Rights-Record-Degenerated-in-2009-87362952.html). What is more alarming is that men and women in Iran are still being sentenced to stoning to death. The last reported stoning occurred just four months ago. Both a man and his wife were accused of adultery. While the husband was accused of not just adultery, but rape as well, was hanged, his wife was sentenced to be stoned to death even with insufficient evidence of her committing adultery. While stoning in general is horrific, regardless of how heinous a crime a person committed, it is disheartening that only women are receiving this inhuman punishment. Regardless of foreign pressure to stop stoning, Iran still commits the monstrous act.
Your post brings up a really good point. Why is it that women are being punished for adultery so much more severely than men? Honor killings are still prevalent in this area and women are often beaten, even killed, for “crimes” they did not commit. Earlier this year, a teenage girl in Turkey was buried alive for speaking to a member of the opposite sex. You mention that Iran has to deal with foreign pressures, but I feel this is not enough. Obviously, this technique is not working, but I am not sure what would be the most effective way to bring about change.
You mention numerous statistics about Iran’s current treatment of people, and how they still have horrendously high numbers of hangings and stone-ings, etc. But how does this compare to previous years? If the numbers are lower, then that would seem to indicate at least some progress. If not, then your point holds.