How Zionist lobby silenced Australian senator for commending Iranian women

By Yousef Ramazani

Over the past three weeks, a relentless media and political campaign has targeted independent Australian senator Fatima Payman and others who attended a recent event in Sydney where the status and empowerment of women in Iran was discussed.

The smear campaign, led by Zionist elements and anti-Iran rabble-rousers, has aimed to muzzle their voices and pressure them into revising their stance.

It all began in Sydney at an event focused on Iranian women, where Iranian-Australian women shared their experiences in advancing their scientific, artistic, and professional careers, challenging entrenched prejudices.

Their positive accounts, along with the enthusiastic responses from attendees speaking to reporters, were swiftly met with an extensive defamation campaign across the political sphere, media, and social networks.

Under intense pressure, largely from the Zionist lobby and some hostile anti-Iran groups, an Australian politician who participated in the event was compelled to publicly distance herself from the gathering, its organizers, and the Press TV that interviewed here.

The Sydney event

The event, titled "Women in Contemporary Iran: A Novel Narrative - Challenging the Narrative of Iranian Women in the West to Reflect the Unheard Voices of Many Women," was held on February 22 at Parramatta South Campus, Western Sydney University, in commemoration of International Women’s Day 2025.

Organized by the Benevolent Iranian Women Association (BIWA), the gathering brought together prominent Iranian-Australian women and other distinguished guests to discuss pressing issues related to authenticity, diversity, and representation of women in

In a statement, the BIWA emphasized its goal "to provide factual information, first-hand experiences, and authentic observations about Iran, women in Iran, and expose the skewed and incomplete narrative represented in Western media."

The event served as a platform to recognize the vital contributions of Iranian women in society, politics, the arts, and science—particularly in the realm of scientific advancements, despite challenges.

Sheikh Abdul Quddus Al-Azhari, the Grand Mufti of the Australian Continent, delivered a passionate keynote speech titled "Islam Leads the World in Women’s Rights," highlighting the framework within which women's rights are progressing in Muslim societies.

Another speaker, Keysar Trad, a prominent member of several Australian Muslim associations, expressed admiration for the treatment of women in Iran.

He cautioned against the simplistic framing of their experiences in Western media narratives, describing it as "a herald of intended imperial colonialism."

Participants included dozens of women, among them scientist Masoomeh Alaibakhsh and artist Suella Shokooh—both Iranian women residing in Australia—as well as New South Wales Minister for Women Jodie Harrison and American-Iranian journalist and Press TV host Marzieh Hashemi, who addressed the event via video link.

Hashemi, drawing on over 20 years of experience living in Iran, provided insights into the country’s advancements in women's rights and education since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

She cited significant increases in literacy and university attendance among Iranian women, challenging dominant Western narratives.

Other attendees underscored the importance of fostering awareness and understanding, particularly among minority communities in Australia, while advocating for responsible media representation.

Following the event, the BIWA outlined its next steps to advance its mission, including continuing to organize educational sessions and events that promote authentic narratives about Iranian society and women. The organization also encouraged community members, politicians, and other groups to strengthen collective efforts in this regard.

Additionally, BIWA called for greater engagement on social and mainstream media to challenge misrepresentations of Iran and provide alternative perspectives. It also emphasized the need to monitor and expose funding sources behind anti-Iran propaganda.

One of the guidelines specifically mentioned Senator Payman, calling for ongoing communication with her to ensure continued support and advocacy.

Senator Payman's speech and reactions

Payman, an independent senator for Western Australia, on the sidelines of the event gave an interview to a Press TV reporter, praising the status of women in Iran.

She noted that Western audiences are rarely exposed to "the incredible place that Iran is, allowing for women to participate in the workforce, to ensure that they have a voice, and their voices are heard, they're involved in the democratic process."

The senator further stated that people in the West, including Australia, only receive propaganda about Iran from "single-sided organizations with a specific agenda."

Payman is an Australian politician of Afghan origin, one of the youngest members ever elected to the Australian Senate, and the first female senator to wear a hijab.

She is also the founder and leader of her own political party, Australia’s Voice.

Until last year, she was a member of the Labour Party, from which she resigned in protest against its pro-Israel policies, its indifference to genocidal war crimes in Gaza, and its refusal to recognize a Palestinian state.

Her statements about Iran were informed by the impressive data presented at the meeting, her personal experience of escaping Afghanistan, and the deeply skewed image of Iran in Australia due to politically motivated propaganda.

Undeniably, independent statistics confirm that Iran has made remarkable progress in all social spheres since the Islamic Revolution—progress that is hardly comparable to any other country over the same period.

Before the revolution, under a Western-backed dictatorship, women’s life expectancy was just 54 years, and fewer than a quarter of women were literate—a figure worse than Afghanistan today.

Now, women's life expectancy has risen to 80 years, comparable to the United States. In education, the number of female university students in Iran exceeds that of Japan.

Iranian women voted in the 1979 referendum, which resulted in over 99 percent support for the establishment of the Islamic Republic. To this day, they vote in presidential, parliamentary, assembly, and local elections, while also actively participating as candidates.

Iran is also widely recognized among international travelers as one of the safest countries for women, with a femicide rate three times lower than the global average, five times lower than in the US., and slightly lower than in Western Europe.

Iran’s rapid rise in global rankings across various sectors, along with individual achievements in science, academia, sports, and the arts, makes the status of women in the country truly remarkable.

Despite being undeniable facts, this data is considered "controversial" by the Australian political elite and mainstream media simply because it does not align with the distorted and prejudiced narrative that portrays Iran as a country at the bottom of the world.

It is important to emphasize that this distorted image of Iran is not only directed against its politics but also against its society, religion, and culture as a whole—pushing the boundaries of what is publicly accepted as hatred.

Smear campaign against Payman

Immediately after Payman gave an interview to Press TV, a vicious smear campaign was launched against her in the Australian media and on social media networks.

The first striking feature of the Australian media’s coverage is its use of delegitimizing terms for the Iranian government—something rarely seen in reference to overthrown regimes or similar current dictatorships that are friendly to Canberra, London, and Washington.

In other words, according to experts, even after nearly half a century, they have not come to terms with the fall of the puppet regime and the democratic decision of the Iranian people.

Yet, in their attacks on Payman, they hypocritically and falsely denied the existence of a democratic process in Iran.

Labeling her statement as "controversial," virtually all Australian media outlets attempted to uphold the distorted narrative, citing selective, loaded, or outright false arguments.

They exaggerated the scope and significance of the deadly West-backed riots in Iran three years ago—proven to be sponsored by hostile Western countries—while continuing to misrepresent the attributed cause, the tragic death of a girl.

Despite Australia’s own domestic controversies—including the historical imposition of clothing on Indigenous Aborigines and ongoing discrimination and xenophobic calls for bans on Muslim and Sikh attire—the media unanimously attacked Iran's dress code while conveniently ignoring the fact that it applies to men as well.

Many articles quoted hostile figures from the Iranian-Australian community of 100,000, presenting their views as if they were representative of Iran’s 90 million citizens.

Among them were members of the so-called Australian United Solidarity for Iran (AUSIRAN), a group that, under the guise of "human rights," openly advocates for the overthrow of Iran’s political system by "any means necessary."

Beyond calling for Iran to be turned into another Syria, they bizarrely accused Tehran of fictitious "genocide" and "gender apartheid," while simultaneously urging the Australian government to tighten sanctions—sanctions that harm ordinary Iranians, including female patients.

Several other groups—composed of advocates for restoring the collapsed dictatorship, separatist movements, or other marginal political factions—also came out against Payman, formally requesting an investigation into alleged "foreign influence."

In Australia’s supposedly pluralistic society, no prominent public figure came to the defense of the young female politician, ultimately forcing her to distance herself from her earlier comments.

Payman released a statement explaining that she had "heard first-hand positive experiences from Iran" from Australian-Iranian women who feel excluded from one-sided representation.

She added that, as a leader, it is important for her to "keep an open mind and listen to both sides" and acknowledged that "the Iranian community is not homogenous and individuals have different lived experiences," countering the narrative that all experiences must be negative.

Under attack from different quarters, she attempted to downplay her original statement to Press TV, claiming that she was merely quoting what she had heard from other women at the meeting.

In addition to Payman, NSW Minister for Women Jodie Harrison also faced pressure and publicly "apologized" for her participation via video, calling her decision "ill-considered" and stating that she "does not share the views of the panelists."

The event organizers from BIWA were not spared either, prompting them to issue a statement in which they "strongly rejected media accusations of being a mouthpiece for the Iranian government."

Ultimately, Australia proved to be the antithesis of the so-called "incredible place" Payman initially described—one where there is no space for women's voices and differing perspectives, even if they stem from personal experiences. A place where pure facts are unwelcome, and only a distorted, politically motivated narrative about Iran is publicly acceptable.

Zionists' role in smear campaign

In the attacks on Payman and the Sydney meeting across social networks, it is evident that the loudest voices in the smear campaign came from Israeli-affiliated activists such as Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Emily Schrader, Masih Alinejad, Sana Ebrahimi, and Elica Le Bon, among others.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert, an Australian-British citizen who served a prison sentence in Iran for spying for the Israeli regime before being released in late 2020, launched vicious attacks on Payman in the Australian media and on social media.

In her articles, she makes absurd comparisons between Iran and Afghanistan, recycles long-refuted misinformation about recent riots, and insists that she served a sentence in Iran for "no reason at all."

Despite ongoing denials and intentional concealment of the truth, it has been established that she completed a two-year special training course at the Alon Shvut settlement—one of many illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank—preparing herself for espionage activities.

Emily Schrader, a notorious Zionist propagandist and agitator who works for the Israeli regime's Hasbara, also took to X to attack the event organizers.

She resorted to the familiar Zionist tactic of falsely accusing critics of the very crimes her own side commits, branding Iran as "gender apartheid," while conveniently ignoring the actual apartheid imposed on Palestinians

Press TV on Instagram: "Fatima Payman, a firebrand independent Australian senator, has faced a smear campaign for her remarks about Iranian women in a recent interview with Press TV, with anti-Iran propagandists ferociously targeting her. In the interview broadcast on Sunday, Payman – an Australian politician of Afghan origin who was elected to the Senate for Western Australia in 2022 and leads her own party, ‘Australia’s Voice’ – spoke about the freedom women in Iran enjoy and the progress they have made. She was interviewed by Press TV on the sidelines of an event in Sydney that challenged Western narratives, including stereotypes about Iranian women portrayed in Western media. ——— #Iran #Australian #senator #Iranian #women #FatimaPayman #AustraliasVoice"

919 likes, 18 comments - presstvchannel on February 25, 2025: "Fatima Payman, a firebrand independent Australian senator, has faced a smear campaign for her remarks about Iranian women in a recent interview with Press TV, with anti-Iran propagandists ferociously targeting her. In the interview broadcast on Sunday, Payman – an Australian politician of Afghan origin who was elected to the Senate for Western Australia in 2022 and leads her own party, ‘Australia’s Voice’ – spoke about the freedom women in Iran enjoy and the progress they have made. She was interviewed by Press TV on the sidelines of an event in Sydney that challenged Western narratives, including stereotypes about Iranian women portrayed in Western media. ——— #Iran #Australian #senator #Iranian #women #FatimaPayman #AustraliasVoice".

Masih Alinejad, a US regime propagandist with direct ties to Zionist lobby groups and a reputation for spreading anti-Iran disinformation, also joined the smear campaign.

Assuming her usual role as the self-proclaimed spokesperson for all Iranian women, she portrayed her negative (and factually questionable) experience as representative of the entire nation, repeatedly using the phrase "millions of Iranian women."

Amidst a barrage of false accusations, fabrications, and manipulation, she challenged Senator Payman with the question: "If women had a real voice, why are so many of them in prison?"

This claim is not only factually incorrect and contextually misleading but also deeply hypocritical, given that the country she resides in has the highest number of female prisoners in the world, both in absolute numbers and incarceration rate.

Iran, by contrast, has a female incarceration rate eight times lower than the United States and half that of Australia, with the vast majority of cases involving non-political crimes.

Two other self-proclaimed "spokeswomen" for Iranian women, Sana Ebrahimi and Elica Le Bon—both based in the US and working for Zionist organizations—attempted to attack Payman in a similar manner to Alinejad, relying on false personal testimonies, insults, and manipulations.

Ebrahimi, who claims to be a human rights advocate, has used the X platform to refer to Palestinians as "scum of the human race" while openly advocating for Israeli airstrikes on civilians gathered in Gaza.

Le Bon, whose real full name is Elica Najmi Mojtahed-Zadeh, falsely claims in Western media that she comes from a refugee family, despite the fact that her father moved to London to study before the Islamic Revolution.

Over the past year and a half, she has emerged as a fervent supporter of Israeli genocidal policies in Gaza, working closely with figures such as Noa Tishby, Gazelle Sharmahd, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali—alongside several other Zionist propagandists.

On multiple occasions, she has openly boasted about her association with son of former Iranian dictator Reza Pahlavi, who is financially supported by Israeli regime for years.

The coordinated smear attacks orchestrated by these individuals were uncritically reported by numerous Australian media outlets as "critical voices of Iranian women."

Calls to ban Press TV

In parallel with the campaign to silence Australian women, the media and politicians also targeted Press TV, whose reporter attended the Sydney meeting.

The media frenzy was initiated by Moore-Gilbert, who accused Press TV of "propaganda" and broadcasting "forced confessions" as well as "forced interviews with prisoners before execution."

She was referring to Abdolmalek Rigi and Jamshid Sharmahd, both Israeli and Western assets responsible for terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of dozens of Iranian civilians.

According to the twisted Western narrative, their trials were "unfair" and "politically motivated," which served as the pretext for the Australian government’s decision to sanction Press TV a year and a half ago—symbolically timed to coincide with the first anniversary of the Western-backed riots in Iran.

Although Press TV has not been broadcast in Australia since the sanctions were imposed, the network still maintains at least one local reporter and continues to cover Australian stories.

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Moore-Gilbert, in response, questioned the effectiveness of this censorship in her articles and launched a campaign to have Press TV banned entirely—a move that was quickly echoed on the political stage by Dave Sharma.

Sharma, an Australian senator and former Australian ambassador to the Zionist entity, is well known for his staunchly pro-Israel stance, close ties with Israeli far-right politicians, and opposition to an independent Palestinian state.

His statement that Palestinians fleeing Israeli genocide "pose a threat to Australian safety" was widely condemned as racist by the Jewish Council Australia.

Commenting on Payman’s statements, Sharma said he was "shocked" to see a report featuring "Press TV’s name and logo on the microphone," as well as the revelation that the network has a correspondent based in Sydney.

He used a recent Senate estimates hearing to question officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) about Payman’s interview with Press TV and whether the network was legally permitted to operate in Australia given the sanctions against it.

However, Foreign Minister Penny Wong pushed back against Sharma’s criticism, pointing out that DFAT does not disclose its investigations into sanctions breaches ahead of time.

The campaign against Press TV ultimately led to Payman distancing herself from the network, claiming she had been unaware of its affiliations.

Facing mounting pressure, she reportedly went a step further on Monday, expressing support for an initiative to ban Press TV completely in Australia.

With these actions, the Zionist lobby has effectively eradicated even the slightest possibility of a balanced and neutral dialogue between the two countries, reinforcing Australia’s extreme hostility toward Iran—a stance that has drawn anger and outrage in Iran.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir