A/HRC/22/56 3. Right to freedom of movement 44. A married woman cannot obtain a passport or leave the country without her husband’s written permission. In November 2012, the Chairperson of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Majlis announced an amendment to the country’s passport laws that would require unmarried women under the age of 40 and males under the age of 18 to obtain the consent of a guardian or the ruling of a sharia judge in order to acquire a passport.52 Although the amendment was ultimately rejected, the Commission reportedly announced further amendments to the passport bill, which would continue to allow single women over the age of 18 years to obtain a passport without the above-mentioned permission, but would require them to obtain permission from their father or guardian on the paternal side in order to leave the country.53 45. In defence of the above-mentioned amendments, the Chairperson of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission reportedly stated that the Government frequently received requests from single women to travel outside of the country, particularly for the purpose of pilgrimage, and that this had prompted the Government to institute policies that would ensure their health and safety. 54 4. Civil and political rights 46. According to reports, women’s rights activists continue to be harassed for making statements that criticize policies or government actions; organizational meetings continue to be disbanded; permits for peaceful assemblies are still being denied; and women believed to be associated with entities such as the Mourning Mothers and the One Million Signatures Campaign for Equality continue to face harassment, arrest and detention. Women’s rights advocates are frequently charged with national security crimes and “propaganda against the system”. 47. Activists are also reportedly subject to travel bans and other forms of suppression for protected activities. Women’s rights activist and member of the One Million Signatures Campaign for Equality Maryam Behraman was recently sentenced to an 8-month suspended jail term on the charge of “propaganda against the State”. She was acquitted on charges of having “insulted the leader and founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.55 Ms. Behraman was arrested on 11 May 2011 in Shiraz on charges of “acting against national security”, a charge apparently linked to her participation in the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2011, and detained for 128 days in a detention centre. On 15 September, she was released on $300,000 bail. Ms. Behraman’s lawyer reportedly stated that she was able to read eight volumes of her case file and allowed to take notes, then to submit her defence during the three relatively lengthy court sessions. 56 48. A number of Iranian laws continue to discriminate against women. Article 1108 of the Civil Code, for example, requires women to be obedient to their husbands. Women cannot transfer nationality and citizenship to their husbands or children, a situation that has rendered stateless thousands of children of Iranian women who have married Afghani or Iraqi refugees, as well as expatriate Iranian women married to non-Iranians. 49. A dearth of female representation in decision-making roles remains problematic for women’s participation in public life, a right enunciated by article 25 of the International 52 53 54 55 56 http://isna.ir/fa/news/91082717440/. http://isna.ir/fa/news/91102514730/. http://isna.ir/fa/news/91082717440/. http://fairfamilylaw.org/spip.php?article8811. Ibid.; see also http://hra-news.org/263/best/14339-1.html. 15