‘Author and MSNBC guest Lauren Leader said Monday the United States is just as “repressive” toward women as Iran and Afghanistan.
Leader was discussing women’s rights alongside MSNBC contributor Al Sharpton, who was discussing Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and women in politics before shifting gears to abortion. Leader then compared the U.S. to both Iran and Afghanistan for allegedly repressing women’s rights.
“In this time where so many Americans are concerned about the strength and durability of our democracy, that we have to understand that these things go together, that the enfranchisement of all Americans, people of color, but women who are the majority of all backgrounds, that their full and equal participation at every level of our political process, that is the most fundamental building block of a stable and enduring democracy,” Leader said. “We see it in Iran, we know it to be true in Afghanistan and everywhere around the world where women’s rights have been repressed.”
“Those are the most repressive regimes for democracy for all, and that is true here too.”
Iranians have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest the death of a 22-year-old girl, Mahsa Amini, who was arrested and detained by so-called morality police for improper head coverings. Iran’s morality police are responsible for the strict enforcement of proper head coverings and loose-fitting clothing for women in the Islamic Republic. Amini fell into a coma and died while in custody, with her family maintaining she had no prior health issues. Her father has blamed the police for her death. (RELATED: CNN Anchor Christiane Amanpour Walks Out Of Interview With Iranian President After Refusing To Wear Headscarf)
Protests erupted in at least 13 cities following Amini’s death, with at least 9 dead in clashes between protesters and Iranian security forces. Protests also voiced grievances over political repression and ongoing economic crises.
Leader isn’t the only one who has tried to equate abortion rights in the U.S. to Iranian women being killed. “The View” co-host Ana Navarro pushed back against fellow co-host Joy Behar for comparing the two.