On Friday, the UN's Commission on the Status of Women, an organization whose mission "is dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women," unanimously voted in Iran as its newest member.

Celebrating its new honor four days later on Tuesday, International Women's Day, Iran, according to the Reuters

a video uploaded on YouTube showed Iranian security forces beating protesters in what was apparently a demonstration for International Women's Day.

Women's rights activists have called for demonstrations to advocate and defend the rights of both men and women in Iran, as well as more general democratic principles,

Meanwhile, in Sudan, another honored member of the Commission, police

arrested more than 40 women minutes after they started a protest against rape and rights abuses, witnesses said in the latest sign of a crackdown on dissent.

Sudanese women's groups organized the protest against discriminatory laws on Tuesday -- marked as International Women's Day across the world.

Before the rally, organizers said they were enraged by reports of the arrest and rape of Safiya Eshaq, a supporter of anti-government activist group Girifna, in Khartoum last month.

After electing Iran to membership, the Commission continued to work on plans for a conference in the fall decrying Israel and the US.