News - Middle East: Women in Canada, particularly the Indigenous, are struggling with discrimination, inequality and violence as their rights are constantly violated, according to a new report by Iran's High Council for Human Rights.

In a detailed bilingual report (Persian and English) published on Wednesday, Iran's top human rights body reviewed violations of women’s rights and violence against female citizens, particularly Indigenous ones, in the North American country.  

In its opening part, the report, titled “Discrimination, Inequality & Violence Against Women in Canada”, cited the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Dubravka Simonovic, who, during a visit to Canada in April 2018, urged Ottawa to urgently rescind all remaining discriminatory provisions in Indian Act and any other discriminatory national laws and practices against Indigenous women and girls.

The so-called Act is a paradoxical document that has enabled trauma, human rights violations and social and cultural disruption for generations of Indigenous peoples.

“For decades, First Nations women and their descendants have faced sex-based discrimination that has been perpetuated by these provisions, constituting a violation of international and national gender equality standards,” said the UN expert at the time.

Citing new data released by Statistics Canada in May, the report said that more than six out of 10 Indigenous women reported experiencing physical or sexual assault at some point in their lifetime.

This is while Ottawa has yet to release a federal action plan to address violence against Indigenous women and girls.

Canada's 1.7 million indigenous citizens, nearly five percent of the population, mostly live in isolated communities where poverty, high unemployment and high risk of suicide are chronic problems.