Ex-Labor Senator Fatima Payman in bizarre defence of Iran on women’s rights
The former Labor senator, who sensationally quit due to the party’s stance on Palestine, has claimed women in Iran are not oppressed in a bizarre clip which aired on a state-owned Iranian TV station.
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An ex-Labor senator who quit the party over its stance on Palestine has sensationally claimed Australia censors positive examples of women’s rights in Iran.
WA Senator Fatima Payman was captured in a bizarre news clip on state-owned Iranian TV station Press TV at a Sydney event over the weekend, in which she appeared to claim women were not oppressed in Iran.
“Incredible place that Iran is, allowing for women to participate in the workforce, to ensure that they have a voice, and their voices are heard, they’re involved in the democratic process, realities that we’re not privy to living here and listening to the propaganda that we receive from very single sided organisations with a specific agenda,” she told the station, in what appeared to be a clipped comment.
At the same time, social media posts by the Senator regarding Iran’s government have been deleted, including one from a week ago titled ‘My statement on the 46th Anniversary of the Iranian People’s Fight for Democracy’.
Senator Payman told The Telegraph she attended “an Iranian women’s empowerment event to celebrate International Women’s Day where I heard first hand their experiences in Iran and the rights and opportunities afforded to them”.
“The organisation aimed to correct the narrative they felt was single-sided. To which I advised they should create spaces to educate and share their version of events with politicians and representatives. As a leader, it’s important for me to keep an open mind and listen to both sides,” she said.
Last year the UN warned that women in Iran were still being violently punished for breaking the country’s strict dress code, which includes a hijab for women.
Shadow Foreign Minister David Coleman said: “These are deeply concerning comments from a person who was elected to Parliament on the ALP ticket at the last election”.
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Originally published as Ex-Labor Senator Fatima Payman in bizarre defence of Iran on women’s rights
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