Violence against women and girls touches every corner of the globe and is one of the world's most pervasive human rights violations.

For me, the struggle for women's human rights began the moment I was born in Tehran at the height of the Iranian Revolution, a time when the status of women was quickly deteriorating.

Although each human rights victory energizes us to continue our work, there remains a deep sorrow for those prisoners still wrongfully languishing in jail.

Human rights are women's rights, and women's rights are human rights.

As far as the 2009 elections go, there has been a serious crackdown on human rights in Iran, a clampdown on the media and the wrongful imprisonment of journalists. So it seems what's happening is the government is going after people who have a voice, people who change society or public opinion.

Violence is not a respecter of persons and, just like everyone has human rights, every human can have their rights infringed upon. Every human has a right to be respected.