On June 30, at the Free Iran 2024 World Summit in Paris, former Vice President of Costa Rica, Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría, delivered a powerful speech advocating for global solidarity in support of Iranian women’s resistance. Chacón emphasized the importance of an interconnected fight for human rights, highlighting the presence of women from around the world united in this cause.
Chacón addressed the rising threat of authoritarianism, condemning the normalization of racism and exclusionary policies. She called for a collective stand against the repression, torture, and inhumane imprisonment perpetrated by authoritarian regimes and their military forces.
She underscored the need for global cooperation to dismantle oppressive systems that categorize and reject diversity, emphasizing the commonality between women in Iranian prisons and other unfairly imprisoned individuals worldwide. Drawing from her 30 years in politics, the former Vice President criticized public policies influenced by personal religious and moral beliefs that violate human rights, noting the disproportionate impact on women and gender non-conforming people.
Chacón highlighted Iran as a prime example of the dangers of misogyny and religious fundamentalism, urging the audience to look to Iranian women as a source of inspiration. She expressed strong support for Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan, advocating for the separation of religion and state, the establishment of a sovereign nation, and the disbandment of oppressive institutions to guarantee labor, sexual, reproductive, and political rights for all Iranians.
The full text of former Vice President Chacón Echeverría’s speech follows:
Hello everybody, as you can see, I am not alone here. Women from all over the world, are claiming free Iran. We cannot do this alone. In that interconnected world, all fights for human rights need to be global. You know that very well. That’s why women from all over the world are here, supporting the cause of Iranian women in resistance.
But we are facing a big and growing enemy. The rise of authoritarianism and nationalist politicians in governments. We cannot stand in peaceful international solidarity with this big threat of fascism in the normalization of racism, exclusionary discourse, and policies. We need to stand together with all people who are being repressed, tortured, sexually violated, and held in inhuman prisons by authoritarian governments and their military arms.
.@anita_chae: "The women of Iran should be our inspiration. They have courageously stood up and exposed the violence of their regime. This is why I strongly support @Maryam_Rajavi's 10-point plan."#MaryamRajavi4FreeIran #FreeIran2024https://t.co/OZdzKK65Gd
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 30, 2024
We need to come together to fight for justice, peace, and the respect of all human rights of marginalized persons. We have to work together to dismantle the oppressive system that categorizes people, that rejects diversity, that squashes dissidents. We have to understand that women in Iranian prisons have more in common with all other unfairly imprisoned people than they have with the regiments that put them there.
I have been in politics for 30 years and one of the things I’ve learned is that public policies and laws made and executed by people who think that their personal religions and moral beliefs are above population and well-being are in violation of human rights. And always those more affected are women and gender non-conforming people.
Misogyny and religious fundamentalism are positioned in societies all around the world. Iran is the prime example of where we could lend this up. We permit it to continue happening. No, we also, the women of Iran, should be our inspiration. They have stood up bravely and exposed the violence of this regime. This is why I support strongly Maryam’s Ten-Point Plan.
It is imperative to separate religion and state, to build up a new sovereign nation, and to disband all representative institutions in order to guarantee labor rights, sexual and reproductive rights, and political rights for all people of Iran. We need to stand together in international and feminist solidarity.
Thank you very much, my dear Maryam.
We are here standing up for you. Now, with this wonderful woman here, a Congresswoman, from three different political parties. So, you’ll see you have a majority in our Congress. Four of us together are from four different political parties. We are here for Iran.