Women activists detained in Tehran

IRAN: Four women's rights activists were arrested in Tehran yesterday for collecting signatures for a campaign demanding equal…

IRAN:Four women's rights activists were arrested in Tehran yesterday for collecting signatures for a campaign demanding equal legal rights for women.

Ilna, an Iranian news agency, said the women were collecting names for a so-called "one million signature campaign" demanding changes in what activists say are discriminatory laws against women in the Islamic republic.

Iran denies discriminating against sexes and says its laws are based on Islamic sharia.

A website, www.nobelwomeninitiative.org, reported that the Iranian women activists launched the campaign in August 2006.

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Iran arrested more than 30 women activists last month when they protested outside a Tehran court in support of five other women detained last year. The authorities said it was an "unauthorised rally". The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, rebuked Iran for those arrests.

- (Reuters)