German expert calls for application of human rights worldwide

German university professor participated the second international conference on “Human Rights and Cultures” urging for more dialogue between different cultures and application of human rights across the world.

Irene Schneider from the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Gottingen in Germany in an exclusive interview with Taqrib News Agency (TNA) referred to Iran as a country in more focus than other countries due to the point that quite a lot of information is provided about the position of women in the country than those in Bahrain or Indonesia.

She said, “Sometimes people are a bit concerned and think of Iran as a critical country so still there could be more information for a better reflection of the conditions in Iran.”

German professor called for more ties between Tehran and Berlin saying, ”There is a need for more exchange on different levels for me this exchange would be a rights dialogue and scientific dialogue with Islamic figures in Iran and an exchange of students between Iran and Germany. It could be stronger tie and a better way on how each country sees the other.”

She was asked on the inaccurate image of Muslim women as oppressed or violated to which she replied, ”There is a law in some Islamic countries which do not agree with gender equality but on the other hand I see a very active movement just fighting for the rights.”

German scientific figure added, “I see that there are different approaches and different developments in the society which unfortunately is not regarded in the west. It is important to let the western people know more about these activists and the different positions women have in different countries.”

When asked about the different international conferences on human rights and the ongoing (rather escalating) violation of human rights across the world, she called for more inter-culture dialogues and said, “It is a very difficult question to answer but I think talking together is always the beginning and a dialogue among different cultures is also very important or for example saying that this is Iran so I am not going to talk.”

She concluded, “Human rights have to be in practice and there should be control that they are put into practice. I mean a certain kind of control should truly be given by the international community by the UN and all the countries that are signatories of the international conventions.”/HK