Gender Persecution and Women’s Rights: Discussing “Gender Apartheid” and the Institutionalized Pattern of Structural Domination and Gender-based Oppression

The systematic discrimination and isolation of individuals based only on their gender is known as gender apartheid. The lack of education, exclusion from the workforce, and extremely restricted access to healthcare are a few of the most urgent problems. Due to the fact that current terminology does not adequately convey the institutionalized character of the disparity, the aforementioned difficulties have highlighted the importance of codifying gender apartheid in international law in order to properly detect and remedy ongoing occurrences. Although gender apartheid is not recognised by law, the circumstances in Iran and Afghanistan are among the most prominent instances of it globally.  

 

When the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021, they systematically dismantled legal and institutional infrastructure. The replacement, Taliban-orchestrated, systems have institutionalized conditions of extreme inequality and oppression. These manifest unprecedented challenges regarding interventions on gender inequality. Many UN experts, among them experts for the OHCHR, dubbed this far-advanced gender inequality “gender apartheid”.  

 

The unique government structure in Iran, combined with conservative values have institutionalized gender inequality much like in the previous case. The most recent and attention-drawing example of gender apartheid in Iran is the “chastity law” that sparked a lot of outrage and protests after the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody of the morality police. The law not only dictates how women must dress but also enforces gender-segregated spaces and forbids women from leaving the house unaccompanied by a male companion.

Furthermore, gender apartheid in Iran manifests itself through not allowing women the right to divorce her husband or to gain custody of their children, and in banning women from obtaining a passport and traveling outside the country without the permission of a male guardian. Women in Iran are banned from many fields of study and are not permitted into sports stadiums.  

 

Both case studies highlight the urgency to codify gender apartheid in international law, to better identify and address ongoing situations as existing terms do not fully capture the institutionalized nature of the inequality.