About Stop Stoning Forever Campaign

Goal

The objective of this campaign is to change the Islamic Penal Code of Iran such that stoning will neither be issued as a sentence nor be practiced as a punishment ever again.

Background

Stoning is a punishment for adultery by the Islamic Penal Code of Iran where most of the victims are women. In December 2002, Ayatollah Shahroudi, the Head of Judiciary, ordered a ban on the practice of stoning. However, rumors about stoning cases were being heard around the country. In May 2006, the word about stoning a man and woman in Mashhad was spread. In August 2006 a woman named Asharf Kalhori was handed an official notice that notified her of the date of her execution by stoning which was scheduled in 15 days. Consequently, a large group of women activists wrote a petition letter to Ayatollah Shahroudi asking him to commute her sentence; the parliament representatives were copied on the letter.

Meanwhile, the Network of Volunteer Lawyers initiated a search for to-be stoning victims within the prisons of the country. After two months of research, 9 women and 2 men were identified who were sentenced to stoning where some of those cases were critical. Some members of the Network of Volunteer Lawyers decided to represent these 11 women and men to save their lives.

Stop Stoning Forever Campaign has since begun through the coordinated efforts of some women non-governmental organizations, a group of women activists, and the Network of Volunteer Lawyers.

The current campaign activity is to collect signatures for the petition to Head of Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi.

Volunteer Lawyers

Bahareh Davallu, representing Hajieh Esmailvand;

Hossein Raeesi, representing Parisa A.;

Shadi Sadr, representing Ashraf Kalhori, Iran A., and V.Kheyreyeh ;

Elham Fahimi, representing ;Malak Ghorbani

Fattaneh Kian Ersi, representing Kobra N..;

Mohammad Mostafaii, representing .Malak Ghorbani

Campaign Board   Advisory

Elaheh Amani

Founding Member of Coalition of Women from Asia and the Middle East (CWAME), USA

Dr. Shirin Ebadi

Lawyer, the 2003 Nobel Peace Winner, Iran

Dr. Josefa (Gigi) Fransico

Executive Director of Women and Gender Institute (WAGI), , PhilippinesCollegeMiriam

Regional Coordinator for , Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), PhilippineSoutheast Asia

Farideh Gheirat

Lawyer, Ex-member of the Board Director of Iran Bar Association, Iran

Dr. Homa Hoodfar

Professor of Anthropology, , , MontrealUniversityConcordiaCanada

Jacqui Hunt

 Member of Board of Directors, Equality Now, England

Mehrangiz Kar

Visiting Scholar as Researcher at Harvard University Law school in Human Rights , ProgramUSA

Dr. Azadeh Kian-Thiebaut

Associate Professor of Political Science, University of VIII, FranceParis

Dr. Ziba Mirhosseini

Hauser Global Law Visiting Professor, University , School of LawNew YorkUSA

Dr. Valentine Moghaddam

Chief of Gender Equality and Development Section, Division of Human Rights and Fight against Discrimination, UNESCO, France

Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies, , USA (2007)Purdue University

Dr. Elaheh Rostami

Lecturer in Development Studies, Department of Development Studies, SOAS, , University of LondonEngland

Dr. Farida Shaheed

Sociologist and Activist, Shirkat Gah Women's Resource Centre in , LahorePakistan

Dr. Nayereh Tohidi

Professor and Chair of the Department of Women's Studies at California State University, Northridge and Research Associate at the Center for Near Eastern Studies at UCLA, USA  

Dr. Vivienne Wiv

Department of Asian and International Studies, of Hong KongUniversityCity

Research Advocacy: and

Asieh AminiIran,  

Sanam DolatshaiUSA, ,

Shadi SadrIran,

Mahboubeh AbbasgholizadehIran,

Soheila VahdatiUSA,

Website Editor

Saghi LaghaiiIran

This been supported by: campaign has

General Secretary of Amnesty International

Amnesty International in Spain

Shirkat Gah Women’s Resource Centre

(Please notify us if you know of other human rights groups or women’s organizations supporting this campaign.)

Acknowledgement

We would like to sincerely thank numerous campaign friends and supporters who help with translation tasks

and publicity affairs and prefer to remain anonymous.