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The Iranian regime must have a real sense of humor. In a year when their human rights abuses reached ever lower depths with an exponential rise in political prisoners, prison rapes, torture and executions, the regime tried to get a prime spot on the UN Human Rights Council. Their bid failed. But the jokers had another trick up their sleeves.

Last week just as a senior Iranian cleric declared that women's un-Islamic garb - meaning a wisp of hair showing - is the root of men's immorality and the cause of earthquakes, the regime moved to secure a seat on the UN's Commission for the Status of Women (CSW). The CSW, comprising 45 countries, voted in by regional blocks, is the principal global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to the advancement of women. Its mandate is "to evaluate progress, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide."

The Iranian government by contrast has taken every conceivable step to deter women's progress and institute a regressive regime against gender equality. In the past year, it has arrested and jailed mothers of peaceful civil rights protesters. It has charged women who were seeking equality in the ... >>>