A/HRC/31/69 51. On 29 November 2015, several students were allegedly injured during an incident that took place in the city of Yasuj when a former member of the reformist — and now banned — Islamic Iran Participation Front and a current member of the newly formed reformist United Iran Party attempted to give a speech about the upcoming parliamentary election. The event was reportedly disrupted by a group of hard-line members of the Basij, who are affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards. 45 Both events had secured official permits.46 At the time of writing, none of those responsible for the disruptions had been arrested or punished by the authorities. Government officials note that tear gas canisters were thrown by those accompanying the speaker but that incident had nothing to do with the security forces. Women’s rights D. 52. According to article 18 of the country’s passport law, married women require the permission of their husband (or, in an emergency situation, of the local prosecutor) to apply for a passport. On 22 September 2015, local media reported that Niloufar Ardalan, captain of the national women’s soccer team, was prohibited from travelling abroad to compete in the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Futsal Championship, held in Malaysia, allegedly because her husband refused to allow her to leave the country. The Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs, Shahindokht Mowlverdi, stated on 30 September that until the law was revised, her office would seek exemptions so that female athletes and scientists could leave the country to attend matches and conferences. On 23 November, it was reported that Ms. Ardalan was allowed to accompany her team to Guatemala on a one-time pass to travel in the absence of her husband’s consent, issued by the Tehran prosecutor.47 In its response, the Government alleges that restrictions on women’s travel exist in order to protect women from harm. 53. On 27 September 2015, the parliament rejected the general framework of a draft bill granting citizenship to children born to Iranian mothers. 48 Among those particularly affected by the inability of Iranian women to pass their nationality on to their children are the reportedly thousands of children born to Iranian mothers and Afghan fathers. Opponents of the bill reportedly cited the need to discourage illegal migration, particularly from Afghanistan, and changes to the country’s ethnic demography as being among the reasons they opposed the proposed legislation. 49 The two recommendations emerging from the 2014 universal periodic review that encouraged the Government to address this issue (see A/HRC/28/12 and Corr.1, paras. 138.102 and 138.112) were not supported by the Government. In its response, the Government notes that a law passed in 2006 allows children of Iranian mothers and non-Iranian fathers to file for Iranian nationality after reaching the age of 18 provided they were born in the Islamic Republic of Iran at least one year after the adoption of the law. The Government also notes that it accepted the two recommendations made during the universal periodic review and was planning to put them into practice. 54. On 2 November 2015, the parliament voted in favour of the general framework of a “comprehensive population and family excellence plan”, referring the proposed legislation to a special budgetary commission to address the additional financial burden imposed by the bill. The Special Rapporteur has previously noted that the proposed legislation includes 45 46 47 48 49 See www.entekhab.ir/fa/news/237700/ (in Persian). See http://iran-newspaper.com/Newspaper/MobileBlock?NewspaperBlockID=99860 (in Persian). See http://persian.iranhumanrights.org/1394/09/niloufar-ardalan-2/ (in Persian). See www.farsnews.com/13940705000334 (in Persian). See http://persian.iranhumanrights.org/1394/07/iran-citizenship-rights/ (in Persian). 15