Controversial senator issues grovelling apology over interview praising Iran’s treatment of women

Senator Fatima Payman has apologised days after her comments defending Iran’s treatment of women to a state-owned propaganda outlet sparked public backlash.

The independent West Australian senator gave an interview to Iranian state-owned broadcaster Press TV at an event about Iranian women at Western Sydney University last Saturday.

Senator Payman, who was born and raised in Afghanistan before moving to Australia with her family in 2003, gushed about the ‘incredible place that Iran is’. 

‘Allowing for women to participate in the workforce to ensure that they have a voice and their voices are heard, they’re involved in the democratic process,’ the former the former Labor backbencher said.

‘Realities that we’re not privy to living here and listening to the propaganda that we receive from very single-sided organisations with a specific agenda.’

Following days of criticism, Senator Payman conceded on Thursday that her comments did not reflect the realities of women who had suffered violence, brutality and human rights abuses.

‘My intention was never to downplay or minimise their pain,’ she said.

‘if my words caused hurt, I sincerely apologise’.

Senator Payman spoke to Australian-Iranian women who shared their personal experiences describing life in Iran in positive terms at last Saturday’s event.

‘When a journalist from Press TV later asked about the conversations I had at the event, I made comments that reflected what woman had shared with me, not my own personal opinion,’ she said.

‘I acknowledge that the Iranian community is not homogenous, and individuals have different lived experiences.

‘However, I recognise that my comments did not reflect the realities of women who have suffered violence, brutality, and severe human rights violations.’ 

The senator also claimed she ‘had no knowledge of Press TV and their political affiliations’, despite the organisation being banned in many countries, including the UK.

Though Press TV is not banned in Australia, it is subject to a sanction imposed in 2023 on the anniversary of the death in custody of Mahsa Amini who was arrested by Iran’s morality policy for not wearing a hijab.

Anyone found to have engaged with a sanctioned entity could be jailed for up to 10 years imprisonment and face fines of $782,500. 

Organisations engaging with a sanctioned entity can be fined up to $3.13million. 

A United Nations fact-finding report, published last September, found that women and girls in Iran still ‘live in a system that relegates them to ‘second class citizens”.

The regime’s infamous morality police ensure women always cover themselves with a hijab, with those who disobey being subjected to imprisonment, beatings and even, on some occasions, death in police custody.

A tabled ‘Hijab and Chastity’ bill, which was paused by Iran’s president in December, could see women face up to 15 years in jail if they dared expose their hair, forearms or lower legs.

NSW Minister for Women Jodie Harrison has also apologised for participating in the event held at Western Sydney University in Parramatta last Saturday.

Condemnation of Ms Payman’s glowing review of the middle East theocracy last weekend was swift and brutal.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert, an Australian-British academic who was detained in Iran on charges of espionage between 2018 to 2020, said Ms Payman’s comments were ‘nonsense’. 

‘Iran has no ‘democratic process,’ least of all one which women are allowed to participate in,’ Ms Moore-Gilbert said.

‘You should know this – I saw you sitting in the Senate enquiry into Iran’s human rights abuses just two years ago. 

‘Why agree to be interviewed by Press TV, English language propaganda arm of the Islamic Republic known for broadcasting false confession videos and forced interviews with prisoners before they are executed?’

Ms Moore-Gilbert bemoaned the ‘irony’ of Senator’s Payman’s support for Iran, given she is from Afghanistan and must know what it is like to be treated like a second class citizen as a woman. 

‘To what end, Senator?,’ Ms Moore-Gilbert asked.

‘Are there really that many votes to be found in cosying up to a brutal authoritarian regime like Iran’s?’ 

Kurdish-Iranian national Jina Mahsa Amini died in police in police custody in 2022 after being arrested for allegedly not wearing a headscarf, with her death prompting a wave of global protests with the hashtag #WomenLifeFreedom.

At the time, Senator Payman released a statement saying ‘We stand with Iranian women and girls in their struggle for equality’. 

But Ms Moore-Gilbert could not reconcile the Senator’s previous support for women’s rights in Iran with her recent comments.

‘I am genuinely baffled by this step from someone who in the past had expressed sympathy and solidarity for the people of Iran and their struggle,’ she said. 

Senator Payman was elected as a Labor senator but left the party last year over its position on the Israel-Gaza conflict.