From Matoko-chan comes the excellent news that the Iranian government has spared the seven Iranian sentenced to death by stoning — of whom I wrote about in October. The impetus? Well, in large part it’s due to the powerful reach of the internet.

Lily Mazahery, president of the Legal Rights Institute, had this to say about the stay of execution:

Recently, we have witnessed a few rays of hope amongst the darkness that has befallen the citizens of Iran. By using the internet to communicate with human rights lawyers, activists, and journalists inside Iran, we have been able to organize an international network of lawyers and journalists who have selflessly and bravely dedicated their lives, personal resources, and boundless energy to saving the lives of innocent Iranians. Through protests, demonstrations, publication of reports of atrocities committed by the Iranian regime and internet-based petitions in various languages, we have generated substantial international attention towards the unjust imprisonment of women and girls who have been sentenced to death, particularly those who have been condemned to death by stoning.

The result of this international collaboration has been nothing less than astonishing! In the past few months, we have been successful in securing stays of executions for Malak Ghorbany, Ashraf Kalhori, Kobra Rahmanpour and other innocent women. After spending 7 years in prison for a crime that she had never committed, Hajieh Esmailvand was finally released from jail last week after all charges of “adultery” were dismissed in her case. Parisa Akbari, a woman who was forced into prostitution by her husband, was also released from prison after the charges of “adultery,” for which she had been sentenced to death by stoning were also dismissed. We are hopeful that our efforts will be successful in obtaining similar results for other prisoners, whose only “crime” is to have been born female in a society that not only devalues their existence, but takes extreme measures to take away their most basic rights as humans. (Source: Eteraz).

But the laws in Iran remain blatantly discriminatory toward women and girls, many of whom are treated as little more than chattle and all of whose lives are valued far less than that of a male.

According to Iranian penal codes, a girl at nine years of age is considered to be an adult. If she commits a crime which is punishable by execution, the courts can indeed sentence her to death. If a man and a woman become paralyzed as a result of an accident, the punitive damages provided to the woman according to law is half that of those provided to the man. If a man and a woman are both witness to a crime, the law does not recognize the woman as a witness, but the man can serve as a witness. The law allows fathers, who obtain the permission of the courts, to wed their daughters even before the age of 13 (legal age of marriage) to a 70 year old man. The law does not allow mothers to serve as the financial guardians of their children, or to make decisions regarding their child’s place of residence, foreign travel, or medical care. The law allows men to take practice polygamy and gives them uncontested rights to divorce their wives at whim.

Having already demonstrated the power of the internet, organizers are now seeking to put an end to the practice of stoning. Show your objection this horrific practice by adding your name to the petition. But don’t stop there: join the One Million Signature Campaign to help change Iran’s discriminatory laws forever.

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