Because the Iranian authorities want to strike at the heart of the regime's greatest vulnerability -- internal legitimacy with its own people
The misogynist nature of Iran's religious leadership
Women activies
for more than a decade
government crackdown
CNN.com opinion articles
What is the reason that the Iranian government has increasingly targeted the reform movement of women activists since 2009?
Nazar Ahari, Hengameh Shahidi, Alieh Eghdam Doust, Bahareh Hedayat , Mahdiyeh Golrou
Nazar Ahari
Hengameh Shahidi
Alieh Eghdam Doust
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Bahareh Hedayat
Mahdiyeh Golrou
What are the names of five women who went to prison for no greater crime than their attempt to fight for the rights of women?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Nazar Ahari
Shiva Nazar Ahari, a young female defender of human rights, received a sentence of six years in prison
Who received a prison sentence on the eve of Ahmadinejad's arrival to New York?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Nazar Ahari
Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Who visited the UN General Assembly last month?
The broader power of the women activists who have been on the front line of reform in Iran for more than a decade
Women activists on the frontline and their transformative power to promote broader human rights progress
A prominent young female defender of human rights, received a heavy sentence of six years in prison
What does the Iranian government fear and why?
New York
The U.N. General Assembly
Evin Prison
Where was President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in when a coordinated strategy against the women's movement continued in Iran?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Shirin Ebadi
What is the name of the person who made their fair share of provocative statements for the Western media?
The U.N. General Assembly
Evin Prison
The UN Assembly
When Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made his provocative statements where was he visiting in New York?
Women's rights activists have been in prison for no greater crime than their attempt to fight for the rights of the women
War against God
A coordinated strategy against the women's movement
Celebration of Norouz
What was happening in Iran?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran
Shirin Ebadi
Who came to New York the evening Nazar Ahari was sentenced?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Hengameh Shahidi
Alieh Eghdam Doust
Bahareh Hedayat
Mahdiyeh Golrou
Who has been sent to Tehran's notorious Evin Prison?
Alleged adultery
rants captured our media's attention
She was put in prison on charges including the vague crime of "waging war against God"
Why was Shiva Nazar Ahari put in prison?
The misogynist nature of Iran's religious leadership
Shiva Nazar was sentenced to 6 years in prison
A prominent young female defender of human rights, received a heavy sentence of six years in prison
What was the coordinated strategy against the women's movement?
The misogynist nature of Iran's religious leadership
To strike out at the regime's greatest vulnerability-internal legitimacy of its people
A prominent young female defender of human rights, received a heavy sentence of six years in prison
What are the reasons behind the government targeting women activists?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Iranian President
Jinous Sobhani
Who is named to have made provocative statements to the western media?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Shirin Ebadi
What is the name of the president who made provocative statements to the media?
The U.N. General Assembly
An strategy against the women's movement
What was continuing in Iran while President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the U.N. General Assembly in New York?
4
9
Nine woman
7
Four
How many women are named in the paragraph?
Against women activies
Against
Love women activies
Is the Iranian government for or against women activists?
Nicely
Fair share of provocative statements
He makes provocative statements and mercurial rants
How does the Iranian President speak to the Western media?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Hengameh Shahidi
Alieh Eghdam Doust
Bahareh Hedayat
Mahdiyeh Golrou
Nazar Ahari
Shirin Ebadi
What are the names of some of the women in prison charged for being women's activists?
(CNN) -- As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month, the spotlight was once again on Iran. And true to form, the Iranian president made his fair share of provocative statements for the Western media. But while Ahmadinejad's mercurial rants captured our media's attention, back in Iran a coordinated strategy against the women's movement continued. On the eve of Ahmadinejad's arrival to New York, Shiva Nazar Ahari, a prominent young female defender of human rights, received a heavy sentence of six years in prison on charges including the vague crime of "waging war against God" -- a convenient catch-all offense for anyone who criticizes the regime and its human rights record. There's no denying it -- Iran's women have had a bad year. Nazar Ahari joins a steadily increasing number of other women's rights activists who are in prison for no greater crime than their attempt to fight for the rights of the women. Hengameh Shahidi, Alieh Eghdam Doust, Bahareh Hedayat and Mahdiyeh Golrou have all been sent to Tehran's notorious Evin Prison on trumped-up charges related to their activism. And while Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, arguably the most internationally recognized Iranian women's rights activist, remains unable to safely return to her country, the government is targeting those affiliated with her for arrest and imprisonment, including her lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and her former aide Jinous Sobhani. Since the 2009 disputed elections and associated government crackdown on the overall reform movement, the government has increasingly targeted women activists. The reasons behind this go well beyond the misogynist nature of Iran's religious leadership. Rather, it is more part of a deliberate and calculated strategy of the Iranian authorities to strike at the heart of the regime's greatest vulnerability -- internal legitimacy with its own people. See more CNN.com opinion articles Iran's government recognizes and fears the broader power of the women activists who have been on the front line of reform in Iran for more than a decade. One can roughly draw an analogy between the women's movement in Iran to movements of religious groups in Burma or Tibet, or the labor "solidarity" movements in the former Eastern bloc and associated labor-Roman Catholic solidarity in Poland -- all advocating initially for the freedoms of a specific group but which provoked government fears for their transformative power to promote broader human rights progress. While the outside world occasionally reacts to the most egregious manifestations of Iran's repression of women -- such as the international condemnation associated with Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian widow sentenced to stoning on charges of alleged adultery -- these events are often portrayed simply as a consequence of the regime's archaic viewpoint about gender. 