What it means
حقوق شهروندی (hoqouq-e shahrvandi) means civil rights or citizens’ rights. The word حقوق (hoqouq) is Arabic, the plural of حق (haqq), meaning right, truth, or entitlement. The adjective شهروندی (shahrvandi) is built from the Persian word شهروند (shahrvand, citizen), which itself comes from شهر (shahr, city) and the suffix -وند. So the phrase literally means the rights belonging to citizens. In formal and political writing, حقوق شهروندی covers the full range of freedoms and protections a citizen holds against the state: rights to due process, free expression, and equality before the law.
How to use it
- حقوق شهروندی باید رعایت بشه. (Hoqouq-e shahrvandi bâyad re-âyat beshe.) “Civil rights must be respected.”
- این قانون حقوق شهروندی رو نقض میکنه. (In qânun hoqouq-e shahrvandi ro naqz mikone.) “This law violates civil rights.”
- ما برای حقوق شهروندیمون مبارزه کردیم. (Mâ barâye hoqouq-e shahrvandimun mobâreze kardim.) “We fought for our civil rights.”
- منشور حقوق شهروندی در ایران تصویب شد. (Manshor-e hoqouq-e shahrvandi dar Irân tasvib shod.) “The Civil Rights Charter was approved in Iran.”
Cultural note
Iran adopted a formal منشور حقوق شهروندی (Civil Rights Charter) in 2016 under President Rouhani, which enumerated various rights for citizens in principle. The document sparked significant debate because activists argued that many of its provisions contradicted existing laws or were not enforced in practice. The phrase حقوق شهروندی has since become central to reform-minded political speech in Iran, and it appears regularly in protest language, journalism, and legal petitions.