Anna Fotyga, MEP, former Foreign Minister of Poland addressed an online panel supporting women’s rights in Iran to mark International Women’s Day on March 8, 2021.
A panel of 30 Members of Parliament and women’s rights activists from the UK and Europe urged their governments to put human rights at the forefront of Iran policy during an online conference sponsored by the British Committee for Iran Freedom on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2021.
The cross-party speakers called on the UK and EU governments to work together to put pressure on the regime to release all political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, protesters, and dual citizens held under arbitrary charges in Iran, especially the women. Speakers urged the UK and EU to make economic and political relations and agreements with the regime in Tehran contingent upon verifiable improvements in human rights and women’s rights. They stressed that Iran stands on the brink of change as the regime has no solutions to any of the economic and social crises facing it and that growing popular dissent in the country rejects the theocracy in its entirety and demands regime change.
The President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Maryam Rajavi, was the keynote speaker at the conference speaking alongside the panelists including several former ministers.

Anna Fotyga, MEP, former Foreign Minister of Poland

Thank you, Madame Chair. Dear Madame President Elect and distinguished colleagues, we usually in the West, in Europe, in particular attempt to focus on our own efforts.

Yet, we have to know that today in our contemporary times, we face murderers, cruel, extremely cruel regime of more or less predominantly society of Iran, regardless of gender, the greatest victim of this cruel regime.

Yet today, on International Women’s Day, allow me to focus on extremely brave courageous and firm in their actions, women of Iran living there in their own country, tending to their families, and wishing, willing to achieve freedom for their own society facing unbelievable atrocities.

There were women victims of capital punishment in Iran, many of them. There were women peacefully protesting against a variety of intimidating measures that were unbelievably cruelly treated by Mullah’s regime.

Despite COVID-19, they try to pursue their work, those Iranian ladies who stay outside of their country are very outspoken and persevering in their work to enhance the role of society, to modernize society, and to bring Iran once more to the family of free nations.

I pay tribute to the excellent work of Madame Rajavi and I can promise that within the European Parliament, we stay by you, we stand by you, we name every victim of Mullahs regime and try to make the situation of ordinary people in Iran better while exposing the unbelievably criminal role of the current regime in Iran.