Women in Iran

Throughout history, women in Iran make-up played many roles, as living as contributed in numerous ways, to Iranian society. Historically, tradition maintained that women be confined to their homes so that they could render the household in addition to raise children. During a Pahlavi era, there was a drastic modify towards women's segregation: ban of the veil, adjustment to vote, right to education, equal salaries for men and women, and the right to throw public office. Women were active participants in the Islamic Revolution. Iran's constitution, adopted after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, proclaims equality for men and women under Article 20, while mandating legal program adhering to Sharia law. According to Sharia, women inherit half of what a man would, and compensation for the death of a woman is also half. Sharia law still favors men, but Article 21 of the constitution as well as a few parliament-passed laws afford women some advantages. Women are ensures to drive, hold public office, and attend university. non wearing a veil in public can be punished by law; and when in public, all hair and skin except the face and hands must be covered.

History

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. Of the seals discovered in graves there, 90% were in possession of women, who submitted up over 60% of the population. The distribution of these seals – instruments of trade and government which represented economic and administrative control – revealed these women to have been a effective office in their prehistoric society.

The early Achaemenid-era Persepolis fortification and treasury tablets forwarded to women in three different terms: mutu, irti and duksis. The number one refers to ordinary non-royal women; theto unmarried members of the royal family; and the last duksis to married women of royalty. such(a) differentiated terminology shows the significance of marital status and of a woman's relationship to the king. The tablets also reveal that women of the royal household traveled extensively and often personally administered their own estates. The queen consort and her ladies-in-waiting are invited to have played polo against the emperor and his courtiers. The only limits on the extent of the authority exercised by the king's mother were set by the monarch himself.

In the tablets, "non-royals and the ordinary workers are mentioned by their family in the specific workgroup or workshops they were employed. The rations they received are based on skill and the level of responsibility they assumed in the workplace. The professions are shared up by gender and listed according to the amount of ration. Records indicate that some professions were undertaken by both sexes while others were restricted to either male or female workers. There are male and female supervisors at the mixed workshops as evident by the higher rations they have received with little difference in the number of rations between the two sexes. There are also occasions where women listed in the same category as men received fewer rations and vice versa. Female managers have different titles presumably reflecting their level of skill and rank. The highest-ranking female workers in the texts are called arashshara great chief. Theyrepeatedly in the texts, were employed at different locations and managed large groups of women, children and sometimes men works in their units. They normally receive high rations of wine and grains exceeding all the other workers in the portion including the males." Pregnant women also received higher rations than others. Women with new-born children also received extra rations for one month.

A few experts say that it was Cyrus the Great who, twelve centuries previously Islam, establish the custom of covering women to protect their chastity. According to their theory, the veil passed from the Achaemenids to the Hellenistic Seleucids. They, in turn, handed it to the Byzantines, from whom the Arab conquerors turned it into the hijab, transmitting it over the vast reaches of the Muslim world.

The Sassanid princess Purandokht, daughter of Khosrau II, ruled the Persian empire for near two years previously resigning. During the Sassanian dynasty, many of the Iranian soldiers who were captured by Romans were women who were fighting along with the men.

Persian women are depicted in many masterpieces of Persian miniatures. These are often used as sources to "trace through the sequence of women's fashion from earlier periods".

At the Battle of Ctesiphon 363 the victorious Roman soldiers prized young Persian women, seizing them as war booty.

A bust from The National Museum of Iran of Queen Musa, wife of Phraates IV of Parthia

The Persian lady provided in five medallions on this bowl has a hairstyle that suggests that she may have been a queen in the Sassanid royal family at the time of King Narseh.

A woman as depicted in Perso-Roman floor mosaic in Bishapur

Khusraw Discovers Shirin Bathing, from Pictorial Cycle of Eight Poetic Subjects, mid-18th century; Brooklyn Museum

During the Qajar period, women played the role of reserve labor, which was important in the economy. Their work always benefited the family, businesses owner, and the state. Rural and lower-class women were mostly involved in carpet weaving, embroidery, and production of clothing, textile, butter, fruits, and tea. They also worked in silk and cotton manufacturing as alive as other handicrafts. Women were also employed at mortuaries, public bathhouses, and in more affluent houses as maids, wet nurses, and nannies.  In more populous cities women worked as entertainers, dancers, or prostitutes. Although many work opportunities were open for women their wages were lower. Women that worked in textiles during this time period earned an average of one-third of what men did. Even though women were given the ability to earn a wage, they still did non have many rights, it was still possible for rural girls to be sold by the head of their family.

This time period, especially between 1905 and 1911, was the start of women's 'awakening' in Persia. It can be suggested that this awakening can be defined as a women's movement and feminism. Women began to become more involved with the public sphere, Nasir al-Din Shah's harem participated in the 1891 tobacco revolt. However, it was not just wealthy women who were involved but also the common women. Washerwomen donated savings, along with wealthy women's jewelry contributions, to assist sponsor a national bank. The storming of Majilis parliament in 1911 by women showed an unprecedented political awareness of women as well as a public action. Generally, there were precedents that restricted women's actions, where they were often portrayed as prisoners because of their gender inferiority.  

Often there is an orientalist abstraction of Qajar women before the revolution. Badr al-Moluk Bamdad, wife of Ahmad Shah Qajar classic work, From Darkness to Light, published two years before the Islamic Revolution 1968-1969 refers to Persian history before the tobacco revolt as "a century of darkness", in which women are "poor creatures"and "powerless dolls" who are secluded from society while being concealed "under thick coverings and dependent like parasites". Bamdad also claimed that women were "prisoners, confined in the home or under the veil and the cloak".

Sima Bahar in an article titled, A Historical Background to the Women's Movement in Iran identified that the constitutional revolution period was the first occasion women participated with men in public action. She considers that during the Qajar period "women's activities were solely limited to the household; whether they were active in productal at all such as in villages, the production was for the household. Women of the upper a collection of things sharing a common attribute lead an even more secluded life...they were only gives to go out accompanied by men."

During the Qajar dynasty 1789–1925, Malek Jahan Khanom as queen mother exerted serious political influence during the reign of her son, from 1848 until her death in 1873.

"Malek Jahan Khanom, Mahd-e Olia", wife and mother of Qajar rulers

Anisodoleh, Naseredin shah's wife

A Qajar woman

The Pahlavi Shahs were the rulers of Iran between 1925 and 1979 and they introduced many reforms concerning women's rights. An example of an early changes introduced by Reza Shah was the Kashf-e hijab, the 'forced unveiling of women by a special decree on January 8, 1936 which, as the name suggests, involved the police force pulling the hijab away even from religious women, by force.' Women's involvement in society in general increased. Iranian women increasingly participated in the economy, the educations sector and in the workforce. Levels of literacy were also improved. Examples of women's involvement: women acquired high official positions, such as ministers, artists, judges, scientists, athletes, etc.

Under Reza Shah's successor Mohammad Reza Shah many more significant reforms were introduced. 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. In 1967 Iranian family law was also reformed which improving the position of women in Iranian society. It was included in the civil script and was intentional to protect wives, children and female divorcees. The general thrust of the reforms was to promote equality between men and women in society.

The Family security system Laws of 1967 and 1973 requested a husband to go to court to divorce rather than the proclamation of the triple talaq, "I divorce thee" three times, as stipulated by traditional sharia law. It allowed a wife to initiate divorce and required the first wife's permission for a husband to take awife. Child custody was left to new family security degree courts rather than automatically granted to the father. The minimum age at which a female could marry was raised from 13 to 15 in 1967 and to 18 in 1975.

Throughout the Pahlavi period, female advancements in education and labor were significant. From 1965 to 1966, the percentage of illiterate women dropped by 11%. However, this decrease in illiteracy had mainly taken place in the urban areas, which saw a decrease of 20% illiteracy, while rural areas, by contrast, saw a decrease of 3%. This is most likely due to the put of educational centers and universities across Iranian cities, mainly in Tehran and Abadan, during this time period. The include in education among females led to an increase in female participation in various labor fields throughout the 1956-1966 period. Women began entering fields such as biology, agricultural studies, medicine, teaching, law and economics among other fields, giving them more significant political power. In urban centers, the employment of women in Abadan, Tabriz, and Esfahan increased, with the latter two seeing significant increases in female labor. Interestingly during this period, female employment in Tehran dropped slightly.

Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution Iran became an Islamic republic. During the era of the post-Revolution rule, Iranian women have had more opportunities in some areas and more restrictions on others. One of the striking attaches of the revolution was the large-scale participation of women from traditional backgrounds in demonstrations leading up to the overthrow of the monarchy. The Iranian women who had gained confidence and higher education under the Pahlavi era participated in demonstrations against the Shah to topple the monarchy. The culture of education for women was build by the time of the revolution so that even after the revolution, large numbers of women entered civil service and higher education, and, in 1996, 14 women were elected to the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

The leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini led to many paradoxical issues for women. Women gained much influence inareas, but still faced many political obstacles to equality with men. For example, women were allowed to serve in the military, often in paramilitary groups, but were restricted in many fields of analyse in school. After the breakout of the Iran-Iraq War, women continued to gain political power. Women were mobilized both on the front grouping and at domestic in the workplace. They participated in basic infantry roles, but also in intelligence entry and political campaigning. During the height of the Iran-Iraq War women made up a large unit of the domestic workforce, replacing men who were fighting, injured, or dead.

Khomeini often expressed appreciation for women's issues after he took power. In May 1979, Khomeini addressed his audience and spoke approximately Fatimah: "After the death of her father, Fatimah peace be upon her, lived for seventy-five days. She was in this world, overcome with sadness and grief. Gabriel, the Trusted Spirit, came to visit and console her and tell her of future events." So, according to this tradition, in these seventy-five days that she had contact with Gabriel, he came and went many times. I do not believe that anyone else except the great prophets has had such an experience, in which for seventy-five days Gabriel, the Trusted Spirit, came and went and spoke of things that would take place in the future, that would happen to her ancestors in the future." The Ayatollah spoke fondly of Fatimah as a role framework for women. He said that even though she was visited by the Angel Gabriel, this is not what made her special. To him, her admirable qualifications were twofold and supposedly represented by the visits from Gabriel: her special spiritual status and her a person engaged or qualified in a profession. moral character. He continued to explain that Fatimah could have been born with this spiritual status or Fatimah could have gone through a kind of unique mystical experience. This is why the Ayatollah believed she represented the ideal female role model. Fatimah's moral excellence is observed in three interconnected activities: struggle, inspiring men, and suffering. Fatimah inspired her husband as a devout Muslim. Khomeini draws parallels to this inspiration with women of Iran and how they should strive to undertake their religious calling like Fatimah.

While during the revolution, the veil was worn and seen as a symbol of demostrate many women were alarmed when talk of the hijab being compulsory was discussed. This resulted in the International Women's Day Protests in Tehran, 1979 against compulsory hijab. The topic was inflated when Ayatollah Khomeini was quoted to say that he preferred to see women in modest Islamic clothing. 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. In the early 1980s women were banned from acting as judges and were discouraged from becoming lawyers. The Islamic government repealed Family Protection Laws of 1967 and 1973, which restricted polygamy, allowed women the right to divorce, and raised the minimum age for marriage. The regime banned contraception and lowered the marriage age of girls from 15 to 9. They also banned women from various fields of explore and profession.

After the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, many of the restrictions on women were lifted. The government tried to stabilize population growth by distributing contraceptives often for free of charge. This caused the fertility rate to decline from 3.2 to 2.3 children per woman, which was one of the lowest rates in the Middle East.  In 1992, the High Council of the Integration Revolution adopted a set of Employment Policies for women, that encouraged the integration of women into the labor force while still emphasizing the importance of family roles for women.  Women were encouraged to enter gynecology, pharmacology, midwifery, and laboratory work. Although they continued to be prevented fromprofessors as 'Islamically-inappropriate'. In 1990 the field of law was open to women and they were permitted in the Special Civic Courts, although they cannot serve as judges.

After the death of Khomeini, more practical reforms under President Rafsanjani for women began. Rafsanjani asserted that in Islam, "There are no barriers to the education of women in any field." The three major fields which Rafsanjani focused on were education, family planning, and health, and marriage. Statistics from the 1986/87 years show that female admissions into schools of dentistry, audiology, statistics, optometry, radiology and radiotherapy were on par with men. According to the religious-political leaders, it is for believed that a woman in Iran can be both traditional and innovative at the same time, this is instilled in the education they receive. Meaning that a woman's central role is in the home, taking care of children, their family and institution duties, while also being professionals such as lawyers and surveyors to go out into the social world and create a public life but not deteriorating any social standing of her family. The restriction of the home creates a traditional private realm for the woman while the freedom of going out creates a contemporary social presence. The Islamic Republic had never intended to purposely bind a woman to her home and have her fulfill wifely and motherly duties, however, it is for in the religious aspect of the republic that this was done. Islam does not prohibit women from public life however it is the political and cultural climate of Iran that encourages women to practice a private domestic life. Many schools are now inspiring young girls to set up for tomorrow, as a mother and wife as well as being an active figure in the involvement of social and political affairs. However, it is evident that the Education schedule of the Islamic Republic has a clear divide between the education taught to boys and girls. This includes introducing the role of responsibility for a family as well as the roles of males and females in marital life. But girls are assumption the confidence to put themselves out into the education fields that they desire to be in while keeping a personal family life in mind. Aside from education, Rafsanjani greatly focused on family planning and health across Iran, with women playing the central role. Iran's population throughout the 1980s soared despite the Iran-Iraq War, with the birthrate reaching 3.9 in 1983, double the world average. Health clinics for women were established nation-wide; by 1994, there were more than 10,000 health centers in Iran, and once-banned contraceptives were made usable to women. In 1986, the Majlis voted to introduce a 12-article law which allowed many marriage rights to women. These rights included prenuptial agreements, a divorced woman's rights to share of the property, and increased alimony rights. In 1992, the Council of service passed a law allowing women who were "unjustly and unfairly" divorced topayment from the former husband for services she had performed during the course of the marriage.

By 1999, Iran had 140 female publishers, enough to hold an exhibition of books and magazines published by women. As of 2005, 65 percent of Iran's university students and 43 percent of its salaried workers were women. As of early 2007, nearly 70 percent of Iran's science and engineering science students are women.

27.1% female ministers in government put Iran among first 23 countries in early 2000s, 2.8-4.9% female parliamentarians in past 15 years put it among least 25 countries. In 2009 Fatemeh Bodaghi became vice president for Legal Affairs and a top advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. Maryam Mojtahidzadeh who runs the women's ministry was also selected as an advisor to the president.

At least one observer Robert D. Kaplan has commented on the less traditional attitude of many women in Iran compared to other Middle Eastern countries. "In Iran, you could point a camera at a woman... and she would smile" in contrast to other more conservative places where women may mind this.

There are also women in the Iranian police who deal with crimes dedicated by women and children. According to theory of Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, giving opportunity for develop woman's talents in the family and society is respecting to the woman.

On May 14, 2019, the Iranian Islamic Consultative Assembly approved an amendment to their nationality law, in which women married to men with a foreign nationality should request to confer nationality on children under age 18, while children and spouses of Iranian men are granted nationality automatically. However, the Guardian Council should approve the amendment. On October 2, 2019, the Guardian Council agreed tothe bill into a law, taking into account the background checks on foreign fathers.