Change for Equality: In a statement issued today, over 400 independent Iranian women’s rights and civil society activists have condemned the violence targeting civilians in Gaza. These activists call upon the international community and regional powers to deploy peacekeeping forces to the region, ensure the safe passage of civilians across borders, ensure the presence of humanitarian aid organizations, independent press and independent human rights reporters. Additionally in this statement these Iranian activists have called upon the international community to ensure appropriate attention to the needs of women and children afflicted by violence and the presence of women in peace and security negotiations. The statement follows:

Statement by Iranian Women’s Rights and Civil Society Activists in Support of the Citizens of Gaza and Condemning Violence Targeting Civilians

We, a number of Iranian women’s rights and civil society activists, strongly condemn the violence and murder of innocent civilians resulting from the recent conflict in Gaza. We urge the warring parties to cease their violence and the killing and maiming of innocent civilians and call upon the international community to immediately deploy peacekeeping forces to the region. We call upon the Israelis and Egyptians to allow for humanitarian aid organizations and independent media to enter Gaza, and to allow Palestinian citizens intent on finding security and safety freedom of movement across borders. Additionally, we call on the Israelis to allow entry for independent international human rights reporters in an effort to document the situation of Palestinians and the impact of this ongoing violence and war on the civilian population.

Further, as women’s rights and civil society activists in Iran, we would like to express our solidarity with all citizens affected by this violence. We remind the warring parties and the international community that women and children are often the silent victims of war and call on them to address the needs of this population appropriately. In accordance with the Geneva Conventions and Protocols on the protection of civilians, UN Security Council resolutions on the subject of the occupied Palestinian territories and particularly resolutions 1325 and 1820 on women, peace and security we call on the international community to take immediate steps to address the special needs of women and children, and ensure the presence of women in security and peace negotiations.

Signatories (in alphabetical order):

1. Amin Aalam-olhoda

2. Mahboubeh Abbas-gholizadeh

3. Saber Abbasi

4. Ali Abdi

5. Nasim Abdi-Dezfouli

6. Khorshid Abedin

7. Abolfazl Abedini

8. Janet Afary

9. Roohi Afsari

10. Maryam Afshari

11. Ali Afshari

12. Fatemeh Ahmadi

13. Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani

14. Bahman Ahmadi-Amouie

15. Ahmad Ahmadian

16. Parisa Ahmadian

17. Nashmil Ahmadpour

18. Fatemeh Akbari

19. Katayoun Akbari

20. Shirin Akbari

21. Alireza Akhavan

22. Rozita Akhavan

23. Aidin Akhavan

24. Fariba Akhtari

25. Shahla Akhtari

26. Parastou Alahyaari

27. Kazem Alamdari

28. Parvaneh Alebouyeh

29. Delaram Ali

30. Elahe Amani

31. Melika Amineh

32. Asieh Amini

33. Hoda Aminian

34. Amir Amirgholi

35. Farnoush Amirshahi

36. Zara Amjadian

37. Yassamin Andalib

38. Leila Ansari

39. Elnaz Ansari

40. Elham Ansari

41. Sina Ansari Ashlaghi

42. Ararat Aratousian

43. Parvin Ardalan

44. Shirin Ardalan

45. Nasrin Ardalan

46. Leila Arshad

47. Zohreh Arzani

48. Tayebeh Asadi

49. Mohsen Asadollahi

50. Hamidreza Asgarinejad

51. Raheleh Asgarizadeh

52. Ghazal Asgarizadeh

53. Ayandeh Azad

54. Nafiseh Azad

55. Mohammad Azad

56. Massoud Azari

57. Hamid Azarm Manesh

58. Pooyesh Aziz-eddin

59. Tayebeh Azizi

60. Soraya AzizPanah

61. Molouk Aziz-Zadeh

62. Elnaz Babayi

63. Esfandiar Bahar-Mast

64. Golaleh Bahrami

65. Sanam Bakhshi

66. Raheleh Baktash

67. Elhaam Banaie

68. Roja Bandari

69. Jila Baniyaghoub

70. Taraneh Baniyaghoub

71. Mastoureh Baradaran Nasiri

72. Golbarg Bashi

73. Behrooz Bayat

74. Simin Behbahani

75. Ali Behbahani

76. Leyli Behbahani

77. Mehrnoush Behboudi

78. Masoud Behnoud

79. Bahar Behsaz

80. Vida Biglari

81. Reza Bishetab

82. Nasrin Changizian

83. Mandana Chatrchi

84. Karin Daal

85. Shourangiz Dadashi

86. Monica Dalebi

87. Mohandess Dana

88. Roya Darashti

89. Jila Darashti

90. Zahra Davari

91. Farhad Davoudi

92. Vida Dehghanian

93. Akbar Doostdar

94. Vahab Dousti Dokashkani

95. Abdul Latif Ebadi

96. Shirin Ebadi

97. Hamid Reza Ebarhimzadeh

98. Anahita Ebrahimi

99. Babak Ebrahimi

100. Solmaz Eikder

101. Nilufar Ensan

102. Negar Ensan

103. Abdollah Ensan

104. Zoya Eskandarian

105. Sarah Esmizadeh

106. Saeedeh Esmizadeh

107. Mehrnoosh Etemadi

108. Majid Ezazi

109. Mahbubeh Ezzati

110. Parvin Fahimi

111. Mahin Fahimi

112. Saied Fallahzadeh

113. Irandokht Famili

114. Azadeh Faramarziha

115. Fatemeh Farhangkhah

116. Nasrin Farhoumand

117. Faranak Farid

118. Manouchehr Farid

119. Shahla Farjad

120. Behnaz Farmanbar

121. Nazli Farokhi

122. Maral Farokhi

123. Pouran Farokhzad

124. Fatemeh Farrash Khiabani

125. Shima Farzadmanesh

126. Nazanin Farzanjoo

127. Yassamin Farzanjoo

128. Farnaz Farzi

129. Shahla Forouzanfar

130. Farideh Ghaeb

131. Sonya Ghafari

132. Armin Ghahghaie

133. Vida Ghanbarpoor

134. Safiyeh Gharabaghi

135. Rosa Gharachorlou

136. Meysam Ghasemi

137. Hamideh Ghasemi

138. Nima Ghasemi

139. Kaveh Ghasemi Kermanshahi

140. Mona Ghasemian

141. Hossein Ghazian

142. Zahra Gholami

143. Masoud Givehchi

144. Niloofar Golkar

145. Mahdieyeh Golroo

146. Fatemeh Govariae

147. Neda Habiballah

148. Maryam Habibi

149. Mohtaram Habibi

150. Gholam Habibi

151. Mohamad Mehdi Habibi

152. Saied Habibi

153. Omid Habibinia

154. Reyhaneh Haghighi

155. Azad Haji Aghaie

156. Farid Hashemi

157. Setareh Hashemi

158. Bahareh Hedayat

159. Manizhe Heidari

160. Hosein Hematy

161. Roza Hesami

162. Mina Hossaini

163. Eftekhar Hosseini

164. Arezou Hosseini

165. Raheleh Hosseini

166. Lida Hosseini-Nejad

167. Maryam Hosseinkhah

168. Farin Hossein-Rohanian

169. Mahboube Hosseinzadeh

170. Forouzan Islami

171. Farkhondeh Jabarzadegan

172. Nahid Jafari

173. Mahin Jafari

174. Noushin Jafari

175. Leila Jamdar

176. Karen Javaheri

177. Jelve Javaheri

178. Sadaf Javdani-Haji

179. Hajar Kabiri

180. Parisa Kakaee

181. Alireza Kalaiee

182. Farnaz Kamali

183. Mahbobe Karami

184. Massoud Karami

185. Shahla Karim-edini

186. Mahboubeh Karimi

187. MohammadAli Karimi

188. Roozbeh Karimi

189. Parisa Karimi

190. Kobra Karimi

191. Zohreh KarimNia

192. Homa Kaviani

193. Mina Keshavarz

194. Nahid Keshavarz

195. Noushin Keshavarznia

196. Khosro Khajenory

197. Noushin Khaki

198. Vida Khalatbary

199. Amir Khaleghi

200. Farokh Khalilinejad

201. Alireza Khanbakhsh

202. Reza Khandan

203. Fatemeh Khani

204. Nahid Kheirabi

205. Maryam Khorsand

206. Mohammad Khoshnood

207. Nasim Khosravi Moghaddam

208. Nima Khosravi Moghaddam

209. Kiana Khosravizadeh

210. Ali Akbar Khosrowshahi

211. Azadeh Khosrowshahi

212. Yavar Khosrowshahi

213. Mohammad Reza Khosrowshahi

214. Minoo Kiaman

215. Soraya Kiani

216. Elahe Koolaie

217. Sarah Laghaie

218. Javad Lagzian

219. Shahla Lahiji

220. Ziba Lahiji

221. Sarah Loghmani

222. Masoume Loghmani

223. Homa Maddah

224. Afrooz Maghzi

225. Effat Mahbaz

226. Ali Akbar Mahdi

227. Niloofar Mahdian

228. Farzaneh Mahjoub

229. Fariba Majd

230. Majid Malaki

231. Golnaz Malek

232. Maryam Malek

233. Nasrin MalekiNia

234. Vahid MalekiNia

235. Sadighe Masaebi

236. Masoudeh Mashayekh

237. Fatemeh Masjedi

238. Mansoureh Masoudi

239. Behnaz Mehrani

240. Vida Mehraz

241. Leila Mehrizi

242. Akram Mesbah

243. Nahid Mirhaj

244. Jadi Mirmirani

245. Maryam Mirza

246. Bahareh MirzaHossein

247. Ali Moazzami

248. Khadijeh Moghaddam

249. Rezvan Moghaddam

250. Sadighe Moghaddam

251. Manijeh Moghaddam

252. Vajiheh Moghaddam

253. Farideh Moghaddam

254. Fatemeh Moghaddam

255. Manouchehr Moghaddam

256. Cyrus Moghaddam

257. Fariba Davodi Mohajer

258. Firouzeh Mohajer

259. Mahdi Mohamadi

260. Mona Mohamadzade

261. Soleiman Mohammadi

262. Malihe Mohammadi

263. Nafiseh Mohammadi

264. Nargess Mohammadi

265. Effat Mohammad-Pour

266. Navid Mohebi

267. Mahboubeh Mohebi

268. Shahnaz Mohseni

269. Elham Mohseni

270. Sanaz Mohsenpor

271. Ghazal Mohsenpor

272. Rashin Mokhtari

273. Shirin Mokhtari

274. Shirin Momeni

275. Bahar Momtaheni

276. Omid Montazeri

277. Shokoofeh Montazeri

278. Morad Moradi

279. Balal Moradveisi

280. Nina Mortazavi

281. Mohammad Mortazavi

282. Minou Mortazi-Langroudi

283. Farzad Moshiri

284. Mohammad Mostafaei

285. Mohammad Kazem Motavali

286. Seyyed Mehdi Motavasselin

287. Alieh Mottalebzadeh

288. Sayeh Mousavi

289. Saied Mousavi

290. Seyyed Ali Akbar Mousavi-Khoini

291. Shohreh Movahedi

292. Hesam Movahedi

293. Jila Movahed-Shariat Panahi

294. Kave Mozafari

295. Tara Najdahmadi

296. Fakhri Nami

297. Arash Nasiri-Eghbali

298. Elnaz Nateghi

299. Hassan Nayeb Hashem

300. Shiva Nazar-Ahari

301. Fatemeh Nazari

302. Leila Nazari

303. Mehran Nazari

304. Mahboubeh Nazari

305. Farrokh Negahdar

306. Hamideh Nezami

307. Yasaman Nilforoushan

308. Partow Nooriala

309. Hanif Nouhi

310. Nima Paboosi

311. Khosrow Parkhideh

312. Hajeer Pelaschi

313. Zeinab Peyqambarzadeh

314. Mehdi Pezeshki

315. Parinaz Pezeshki

316. Nazi Piran

317. Asal Pirzadeh

318. Bijan Pirzadeh

319. Pooneh PoorIrani

320. Giti Pourfazel

321. Aida Qajar

322. Keyvan Rafi’ie

323. Ali Rahbari

324. Ebrahim Rahimi

325. Nariman Rahimi

326. Maeram Rahmani

327. Banafshe Rahmati

328. Ali Ranjipour

329. Amir Rashidi

330. Saman Rasoulpour

331. Saied Razavi

332. Kaveh Rezaee-Shirazi

333. Mitra Rezaie

334. Maryam Rezaie

335. Sarah Roshan

336. Farhad Roshan

337. Farideh Rostami

338. Ghazal Rostamzadeh

339. Ali Rouzbahani

340. Aida Saadat

341. Zahra Saadat Mousavi

342. Mohammad Saber

343. Fattaneh Sadeghi

344. Azarakhsh Sadeghzadeh

345. Saeideh Sadighi

346. Marzieh Sadr

347. Shadi Sadr

348. Javad Safavi

349. Jafar Safavi

350. Roya Sahraie

351. Setareh Sajadi

352. Sahar Sajadi

353. Jaleh Salary

354. Hanieh Salimi

355. Maziar Samiee

356. Negar Sammaknejad

357. Sahar Saniei

358. Nasim Sarabandi

359. Hamid Sardari

360. Keyvan Sayaar

361. Hamideh Sedighi

362. Farnaz Seify

363. Katayoun Seyedin Kia

364. Sousan Shabani

365. Ehteram Shadfar

366. Fakhri Shadfar

367. Jaleh Shaditalab

368. Reza Shahabi

369. Fatemeh Shahbazi

370. Sholeh Shahrokhi

371. Fouad Shams

372. Fariba Shevidi

373. Amene Shirafkan

374. Fereshteh Shirazi

375. Fatemeh Shirazi

376. Maryam Shirazi

377. Sadeghe Shirdel

378. Akhtar ShirMohammadi

379. Laleh ShirMohammadi

380. Pooya Shoghi

381. Mansoureh Shojaie

382. Zohreh Shojaie

383. Mohammad Shourab

384. Nasrin Siavshi

385. Foroud Siyavashpour

386. Dorsa Sobhani

387. Jaleh Soroui

388. Nasrin Sotoodeh

389. Mahboobeh Tabatabaie

390. Hayedeh Tabesh

391. Tina Taghiloo

392. Tassavor Taghipour

393. Bita Tahbaz

394. Kamran Tahbaz

395. Razieh Taheri

396. Sussan Tahmasebi

397. Sohaila Tahmasebifar

398. Zohreh Tanaboni

399. Nassim Tanha

400. Nahid Tavassoli

401. Nargess Tayebat

402. Farnoush Tehrani

403. Nayereh Tohidi

404. Yasseman Tourang

405. Amin Tourang

406. Ezzatollah Turbati

407. Nina Vabab

408. Pantea Vaezinia

409. Atieh Vahidmanesh

410. Simin Vakhshoupour

411. Elham Yadollahi

412. Sorraya Yagoubi

413. Ebrahim Yazdi

414. Faraz Yekita

415. Sorraya Yousefi

416. Maryam Yousefi

417. Atefeh Yousefi

418. Parvin Zabihi

419. Roozbeh Zabihian

420. Fariba Zamani

421. Leva Zand

422. Mina Zandi

423. Maryam Zandi

424. Nikzad Zangeneh

425. Nafiseh Zare Kohan

426. Parvin Zarrabi

427. Zahra ZolfaliZadeh

428. Mehrnoosh Zonoozi

*Picture from the New York Times. Take a look at the New York Times slide show on the Gaza violence.