London, Sep 16 (IANS): Women and girls continue to face severe repression in Iran, the Secretary of State of the United States and the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement issued on Monday, on the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Zhina Amini.

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, was arrested by police in Tehran on 13 September 2022 for allegedly ignoring Iran's strict veiling laws, and died in a Tehran hospital three days later following physical abuse while in custody.

Her death sparked a nationwide protest movement, led by women and girls, which was unwavering in its demand for a better future.

"We stand with women and girls in Iran, and Iranian human rights defenders, across all segments of society in their ongoing daily fight for human rights and fundamental freedoms. At least 500 persons died and over 20,000 were detained in the Iranian security forces' brutal crackdown on displays of dissent in 2022 and 2023. But the global 'Woman, Life, Freedom' movement remains united," the ministers said in the joint statement on Monday.

It mentioned that the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Iran, established by the United Nations Human Rights Council, has established that many of the human rights violations perpetrated against protesters amount to crimes against humanity.

"The Iranian government has yet to address these allegations and has not cooperated with this internationally recognised mandate. In daily life, women and girls continue to face severe repression in Iran. The renewed 'Noor' hijab crackdown, which enforces Iran's law requiring women to wear headscarves, has spurred a fresh round of harassment and violence," the statement added.

The foreign ministers stated that the Iranian government has bolstered its surveillance infrastructure to arrest, detain, and in some cases torture women and girls for their peaceful activism.

"According to human rights organisations, Iran is one of the foremost executioners of women globally. We call on the new Iranian administration to fulfil its pledge to ease pressure on civil society in Iran and to end the use of force to enforce the hijab requirement," the joint statement detailed.

It also stated that the recent surge in executions, "that have largely occurred without fair trials", has been shocking.

"We urge the Iranian government to cease its human rights violations now. We, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, will continue to act in lockstep to hold the Iranian government accountable and will use all relevant national legal authorities to promote accountability for Iranian human rights violators, including through sanctions and visa restrictions," the ministers said jointly.