Women in Iran
Iran's constitution, adopted after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, proclaims equality for men and women under Article 20,[3] while mandating legal code adhering to Sharia law.
Archaeological excavations at Shahr-e Sukhteh ("Burnt City"), a prehistoric settlement in the Sistan-Baluchistan province of southeastern Iran, have revealed that women in the region during the 4th to 3rd millennium BC possessed high status.
[7] The distribution of these seals – instruments of trade and government which represented economic and administrative control – revealed these women to have been a powerful group in their prehistoric society.
They appear repeatedly in the texts, were employed at different locations, and managed large groups of women, children, and sometimes men working in their units.
Badr al-Moluk Bamdad, wife of Ahmad Shah Qajar classic work, From Darkness to Light, published two years before the Islamic Revolution (1977) refers to Persian history before the tobacco revolt as "a century of darkness",[19] in which women are "poor creatures"[19] and "powerless dolls"[19] who are secluded from society while being concealed "under thick coverings and dependent like parasites".
For example, in 1963, the Shah granted female suffrage, and soon after women were elected to the Majlis (the parliament) and the upper house, and appointed as judges and ministers in the cabinet.
The Iranian women who had gained confidence and higher education under the Pahlavi era participated in demonstrations against the Shah to topple the monarchy.
During the height of the Iran-Iraq War, women made up a large portion of the domestic workforce, replacing men who were fighting, injured, or dead.
[28] In 1981 veiling was made compulsory and cosmetics were banned, harsh punishments were also introduced by the morality police such as the removal of lipstick by a razor blade.
The Islamic government repealed the Family Protection Laws of 1967 and 1973, which restricted polygamy, allowed women the right to divorce, and raised the minimum age for marriage.
Many schools are now inspiring young girls to prepare for tomorrow, as a mother and a wife and as active figures in the involvement of social and political affairs.
In 1992, the Council of Expediency passed a law allowing women who were "unjustly and unfairly" divorced to collect payment from the former husband for services she had performed during the course of the marriage.
On January 17, 2020, Raha Bahreini, Amnesty International's special reporter on Iran, revealed a case of sexual assault on an Iranian woman who had been detained in Tehran during the protests that erupted after the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane.
The other factors that motivate women to obtain higher education are justice and equality in society, increase girl knowledge, participation in the social culture and politics, and change the traditional attitudes.
On the other hand, education was the only factor to upgrade women's social status because they wanted to further themselves and be involved in economics and politics after the Islamic revolution and anti-shah rallies.
82.7 percent of female civil servants work in teaching and education followed by administrative, financial, clerical, health, and medical professions.
Ali Akbar Mahdi is in agreement with Parvin Ghorayshi in that through the domestication of women and confinement to the private sphere, they were being exploited in non-wage activities.
The new sovereign decided that he would have followed the same principles as the Turkish president Atatürk; forcefully eliminating the obligation to wear the veil and opening the access to universities for women.
[97] After a short attempt made by the prime minister Mossadegh to overthrow him he regained his place as leader and decided to review some articles in family law: in 1967 divorce became a legal procedure that had to be carried out only in court and the minimum age for marriage became 18.
[97]In 2003, Shirin Ebadi, Iran's first female judge in the Pahlavi era, won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in promoting human rights.
[97] In 2009 before the spring elections numerous organisations for example Madraseh-ye Feminist decided to team up to present a united front to the 4 candidates to ask for a betterment in women's conditions.
The situation had become more tense in April after a video was shared showing a woman being slapped by a female member of Gast-e-Ersade (morality police) for wearing a loose headscarf.
The Gasht-E-Ershaad (also known as the Guidance Patrol) is a part of Iranian Islamic religious police, which is tasked with enforcing Iran's headscarf and dress code laws.
One of "the Girls of Revolution Street",[122] Vida Movahedi, was arrested for crimes against public morals, encouraging corruption and prostitution, and was sentenced to a year in prison.
[124] This protest was created to bring together Iranians in order to show their frustration with the government and an effort to receive change that has been sought for a long time.
[126] On 16 September 2022, a 22-year-old Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini was arrested for alleged wearing her Hijab improperly and later died after according to eyewitnesses, she had been severely beaten by religious morality police officers.
Amini's death received global attention and became a symbol of violence against women under the Islamic Republic of Iran, sparking a series of anti-compulsory hijab protests across the world.
[128] The protests have been "nationwide, spread across social classes, universities, the streets [and] schools", and called the "biggest challenge" to the government of Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
[130] Contemporary Iranian poets such as Simin Behbahani, Forough Farrokhzad, Parvin Etesami and Mina Assadi have helped in the inclusion of woman literature in Iran.
Contemporary authors include Simin Daneshvar, Mahshid Amirshahi, Shahrnush Pârsipur, Moniru Ravânipur and Zoya Pirzad to name a few.
