Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

On 8 December 2022, a young man, Mohsen Shekari, was hanged in an Iranian prison; he was taken to the gallows. Witnesses said he cried out, 'I sacrifice my life for Iran.' This young man was the first known execution triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. Her crime was not wearing her headscarf properly and joining protests demanding more freedom for women in Iran. According to Amnesty International, women and girls are being imprisoned and assaulted in increasing numbers for not wearing a veil or for driving a car without a man, and the parliament in Iran is close to passing laws that will make it easier for police and security services to oppress, arrest and imprison women and girls. It is disgraceful, and Iran should be called out for it.

I thank Senator Chandler for bringing on this important matter today. It's nice to see the Australian Greens senator, Larissa Waters, also speaking up for women in the Middle East. That's not something they've been making a habit of this year. I was waiting for them to bring on a motion about what the Taliban is doing. The Taliban have cooked up more laws that not only tell women they have to hide their faces and their bodies but that also tell women they are now not allowed to use their voices outside their homes. They're not allowed to go to school beyond sixth class, and women aren't allowed to work or go to gyms or parks.

You would think the Greens might have more to say about this, but the Australian Greens haven't brought a single motion forward in the 47th Parliament about the treatment of women in Iran and Afghanistan—not a word about the Taliban and not a word about Iran. Do you know why? It's because they are hypocrites. They choose which groups of women they're going to help and which they're not. This is how it works. We've seen this with the footwear and textile ladies in the CFMEU. They would rather stand up for the bullies of the CFMEU. They're happy to whip up hate and division, but they're not happy standing up for the rights of women in the Middle East. Today is just not going to do it at all.