After a long history of women having little to no rights in Iran, a new, finalised bill to help protect women, is being debated in parliament and hoped to pass by June 2021. This bill, spearheaded by Ms Masoumeh Ebtekar is set to prevent any negative behaviour towards women due to sexuality, vulnerability or relationship, and inflicts harm to their body, psyche, personality and dignity, or restricts or deprives them of legal rights and freedoms. It also dedicates a significant portion of its provision to education on women’s issues.
This bill is strong legally and has a rare strength that the judiciary had an “effective cooperation” with the government in expert review. However, the bill may face opposition at the conservative parliament and the powerful Guardian Council, who rejected a bill to join the UN’s convention to eliminate discrimination against women two decades ago.
Despite all the good this bill is set to do for women the bill falls short of international standards as it does not specifically define domestic violence and does not criminalise marital rape and virginity testing or abolish child marriage.
However, despite its shortcomings it is likely to contribute to empowering women to demand better protections and build awareness for women’s issues in the country.
Written by Pippa Seager
Artwork by Zara Masood
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