Zahra Ershadi, Ambassador and Deputy Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United Nations, has stated that Iran does not consider the claims of Western countries to support Iranian women as sincere and in good faith, addressing these governments, she said that Iranian women do not need guardians.

 The senior diplomat of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who spoke on Thursday local time at the UN Security Council meeting on the topic of women, peace and security, added: "Iranian women are intelligent, educated, dedicated, patriotic and aware of their rights. They also know how to interact with the government in a constructive and peaceful way to advance their rights. Therefore, we advise Western governments that they do not need guardians and do not speak on their behalf".
Ershadi pointed out: "Since its establishment, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always paid attention to the promotion of the cultural, social, economic and political status of women as a fundamental pillar in its policy-making, legislation and national planning. As a result, Iranian women have had full rights in seizing opportunities for progress.
 Referring to the importance of women's empowerment, the envoy said: "Education is just one example of the vital importance for women's empowerment. Women and girls in Iran make up more than half of university students, and currently 73% of medical professionals and 49% of doctors in Iran are women".
Ershadi emphasized: "Such a significant progress has also provided the government with the opportunity to appoint women in managerial positions, as well as to increase efforts to improve the managerial and specialized skills of female employees, and as a result, women's participation in decision-making has also increased. This figure has increased from 13% in 2017 to more than 25% in 2021."
The ambassador and deputy representative of Iran in the United Nations stated: "The Islamic Republic of Iran has created an environment so that Iranian women can proudly represent their nation's religious and patriotic beliefs at the international level in all fields, including science, sports and art. Iran is growing in this field and the statistics show this fact".
Iran's representative in the UN Security Council meeting pointed out the unintended and disastrous consequences of the inhuman unilateral coercive actions of the United States on the rights of Iranian women and said that these cruel and inhumane sanctions have violated the basic rights of women. The United Nations, especially the Security Council, must not shirk its responsibility against these illegal and oppressive actions.
The ambassador and deputy representative of Iran in the United Nations also responded to the biased positions and baseless claims of some western countries in claiming to support Iranian women and said that some western countries have made baseless claims against my country by abusing the opportunity of this meeting. We condemn these accusations, which are nothing but an attempt to politicize women's rights, and we do not consider these countries' claims to support Iranian women to be honest and in good faith, considering their hypocrisy, double standards, and selective approach to human rights .
 Ershadi added: The Islamic Republic of Iran is fully committed to respecting, supporting and promoting the human rights of all people, including women and girls, and we believe that no country can claim that it has the best situation regarding human rights or the rights of women and girls, and Iran too. Like other countries, it strives to improve human rights, including the rights of women and girls."