The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Mrs Mary Robinson, was last night at the centre of an embarrassing row over compulsory dress codes for women in Iran.
Women attending a major conference who flouted the Islamic custom of covering their heads have criticised Mrs Robinson for failing to support their anti-headscarf stance.
The non-Iranian women appeared bare-headed on Monday on the opening day of a United Nations Asian regional conference against racism in the country's capital, Tehran. They reluctantly fell into line yesterday, after criticism from the Iranian government and media.
But they criticised Mrs Robinson's office for siding with Tehran over the compulsory dress-code. Mrs Robinson, who is secretary-general of the three day conference, could not be reached for comment last night.
She has courted controversy over female dress codes in the past. As Irish president, she declined to wear a head-dress during a private meeting with the Pope in 1997.
The women from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) made their complaints in a letter to a French news agency yesterday.
Their protest was "in no way aimed at the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran," they said.
"However, we wish to clarify that many of us come from countries and societies in which women have struggled for recognition of their human rights on principles of equality . . . including their right to make decisions regarding every aspect of their lives.
"We find that the imposition of a dress code on women participants at this NGO forum constitutes an invasion of privacy, a denial of dignity and of our right to choose."
The women said they were particularly concerned that Mrs Robinson was not able to negotiate for the conference to be held in "a space free of all forms of discrimination".
The official Iranian news agency yesterday quoted a foreign ministry spokesman calling on women attending the conference to observe the country's Islamic rules.
Three women not wearing headscarves were pictured in the Iranian press on Monday.
The headscarf is a sensitive issue in Iran, and a leading reformist was recently arrested after suggesting that the decision on whether to wear it or not should be a personal issue.