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In the Annals of history dating back to the great Achaemenid Empire (2000 – 550 BCE), women in Iran have, for the most part, been subordinate to men. Women’s rights in Iran have changed with every regime change throughout history. With the rise of each regime, a series of mandates for women’s rights arose, which affected a broad range of issues from voting rights to dress code.

For Iranian women, their rights and legal status have changed since the early 20th century. Women’s rights in Iran are limited compared to the women in developed nations. The World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Iran 140 out of 144 countries for gender parity. Women in Iran constitute 19% of the workforce in 2017 with only 7% growth since 1990.

The legal rights of women have gone through many changes during the past three political regimes in Iran. During the Qajar, the royal dynasty that ruled Iran from the late 1800’s to the early 20th century, women were more isolated as they were not engaged in politics, and their economic contribution was limited to household work. These conditions transformed to a great extent during the Pahlavi regime from 1925-1979 where women had much more freedom, but that freedom soon retracted after the Iranian revolution in 1979.

During the Qajar and soon after the beginning of the Islamic revolution, the status of women in society was equal to second-class citizens. History

Iran’s history is commonly divided into three segments: Pre-Islamic, post-Islamic, and the modern era. Though little is known about Iran's pre-Islamic time, the recorded history starts with the Achaemenid Empire in 2000 B.C. During the rule of the Achaemenid Empire, Greek historical accounts include that women were able to participate in civic affairs; however, this participation was still limited and considered unusual to the general population. Greek historian, Herodotus, after his visit to the Achaemenian Empire, recounted that Persian men and women worked together in managing the affairs of the states and participated in public ceremony together. Royal women had access to education, were trained horse riders, and participated in official ceremonies, such as the King’s birthday and Naw-ruz, the annual Persian New Year.

After the fall of the Achaemenid Empire and the rise of Sassanid Empire, women's position in Iran degraded and their status was inferior to men. During this era, elite women veiled themselves as a form of protection from non-elite men.

Pahlavi era

In 1925, the military commander, Reza Khan, overthrew the Qajar dynasty. In the same year, he was declared the Shah of Iran, which marked the beginning of the Pahlavi era. Iran’s societal structure and the status of women began to improve after the Shah went on a visit to Turkey in 1936. The Shah was inspired by the modernization that was taking place there by the Turkish leader, Ataturk. In a speech he gave upon his return from Turkey, the former Shah of Iran said: “I am extremely delighted that women have become aware of their rights and entitlement… Now women are on their way to gain other rights in addition to the great privilege of motherhood.”

After Reza Shah was banished to the Morris Island by the Allied powers, his son, Muhammad Reza, took over. The Shah's government began its White Revolution in 1962 and ratified essential women's rights measures, including suffrage and the Family Protection Law of 1967. The Shah’s White Revolution helped to increase the legal rights of women. In 1975, this law was amended to be more heavily in favor of women, by ending extrajudicial divorce and restricting polygamy. It also raised the minimum age of marriage of girls from 13-15 to 18.

Women and the Iranian Revolution

When the Iranian Revolution started in 1977, many women protested by marching in metropolitan cities and wore chadors as a sign of protest. Women played a significant role in the success of the revolution. Their role was both praised and encouraged by the revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, who in various speeches stated:

"Our uprising is indebted to women. Men took the example of the women into the streets. Women encouraged the men to revolt, and sometimes even led the way. Woman is a wonderful creature. She possesses fiendish, strong [and] passionate capabilities." (Imam Khomeini, 6/5/1980)

The Revolution transformed Iranian society, and women were the pioneers of this transformation. (Ayatollah Khamenei, 30/3/1982)

We must not forget the activities which women performed, notably confrontations. Iranian women were able to turn into a revolutionary, political, conscious fighting element through their conscious faith ... Truly, women never lagged behind in any area or on any battleground. (Ayatollah Khamenei, 6/3/1987)

Because the first Pahlavi Shah banned the use of the hijab, many women decided to show their favor for the Islamic revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, by wearing a chador, thinking that this would be the best way to show their support without having to be vocal.

Women took part in the Iranian revolution by participating in the protests. Organizations supportive of the Islamic Revolution, such as Mujahidin, welcomed women into their organization and gave women essential tasks. Ayatollah Khomeini also encouraged women to take part in the protest against the Shah.

Hijab

Hijab is a veil worn by Muslim women when interacting with males outside of their immediate family. Before the rise of the Achaemenian empire, women were not forced to wear a veil. In 1935, Reza Shah mandated that women should no longer be veiled in public.

After Reza Shah mandated women to appear in public unveiled in 1935, a significant number of women became isolated in their houses as they felt going outside their home with no Hijab was equivalent to being naked. Women's dependency during this period grew as they relied on others to run errands. The unveiling law did not last long. When Muhammad Reza rose to power, he abdicated this law, and the hijab became an individual decision.

Compulsory Hijab was re-instated in Iran after the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Khomeini era

With the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini, women's roles were limited as they were encouraged to raise large families and tend to household duties. Khomeini believed this to be the most vital role women could pursue. It was this belief that led to the closing of women's centers, childcare centers and the abolishment of family planning initiatives.

Post-Khomeini era

After the passing of Ayatollah Khomeini, women put more pressure on the government to grant more rights to women. Khamenei, who followed Khomeini took a more liberal approach and enabled women’s advancement by reopening the women’s centers and restoring many of the laws that were abdicated after the revocation of Family Protection Laws.

Sexual law and zina[edit]
Zina is an Islamic legal term referring to unlawful sexual intercourse.

In the Iranian penal code of 1991, extramarital sex (zina) is punishable by stoning or slashing. An entire chapter of Iranian penal code deals with punishments for extramarital sex. Another chapter details how such relations can be proved and verified in the court.

Marriage law[edit]
As part of the White Revolution, Muhammad Reza Shah also enacted the Family Protection Laws. These were a series of laws that included women’s rights to divorce, helped to raise the marriage age for both boys and girls, and curtailed the custom of polygamy, mandating spousal consent before lawfully marrying a second wife.

Under these laws, the right of divorce for women was granted by allowing women to put an end to a marriage if they were unhappy. The law also gave the right to women to keep custody of their children. In addition, it gave women the right to an abortion under certain circumstances, such as rape and if the woman’s life was at risk.

In 2008, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration introduced a "family support bill" in the parliament that would have allowed men to marry a second wife without his first wife's permission and put a tax on Mariyeh – which is seen by many women "as a financial safety net in the event a husband leaves the marriage and is not forced to pay alimony." In September 2008, however, the bill for the tax was returned by Iran's judiciary to the legislative council with complaints about the polygamy and tax articles,and these were removed from the bill.

During the Ahmadinejad administration, Siqeh, or temporary marriages (that can last from 30 minutes to a lifetime), was used, especially in response to the financial demands of prenuptial agreements. The temporary marriages, enacted by fatwa in 1983 under Khomeini, are heavily criticized as a form of legalized prostitution.[4][21][22]

Divorce law[edit]
Divorce law in the Islamic republic of Iran was initially based upon the general rule in Shari'a law that gives men the sole right to end a marriage at any time. This is based on Article 1133 of the previous Civil Code (1928) that states: A man can divorce his wife whenever he wishes to do so.[23]

This law in the Iranian constitution was modified in 1967 by the Family Protection Act which granted women more rights regarding divorce and established mandatory procedures regarding divorce. This also served as an amendment that made all private divorces illegal."[23]

More divorce rights were given to women, including the right to apply for a divorce under specific conditions. Article 1130 of the Civil Code gave the court more power to grant a judicial divorce requested by a woman as well as providing specific circumstances in which the wife can attain power of attorney and expedite the divorce process.[23]

In modern Iran, divorce can be obtained by both men and women, and the custody of children is given to women rather than men.

Civil law[edit]
Iran’s civil law system can be seen as very gender distinct, with numerous laws pertaining to favor men over women and few, if any, laws favoring women. Iran follows strict Islamic laws. One of the civil laws that is recognized in Iran is the legal age of puberty. In Iran, children that reach the age of puberty also gain penal responsibility, meaning that once a child has surpassed the age of puberty, he or she is legally tried as an adult. This can be seen as disadvantageous towards women, as female children reach puberty around the age of ten and boys around the age of fourteen. This means that girls as young as the age of ten can be prosecuted criminally. Punishments can vary from prison sentences to lashes and, rarely, the death penalty.[24]

Laws in Iran forces gender equality to be practically non-existent. Women continue to face mistreatment, especially by law enforcement officers. An example of this would be the mass amount of violence against women during the 2009 Iranian presidential election, where many women were arrested for voting for Mir-Hossein Mousavi. One anonymous woman recollected what happened in prison, and said that one of the prison guards told her, “I will do something you will never forget. I'll make it so you never want to leave your house again, so any time you hear my name, you will tremble." In the end, these women’s votes were never counted. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the election by a landslide and, as a result, massive protests against this election occurred, saying that the election was a fraud. Ahmadinejad took office regardless.[25]

Education

Higher education

Female education in Iran is a relatively recent advancement in society. Women have been allowed to attend school as of the late 19th century and have been allowed to attend college for merely 80 years. During the Qajar years, two schools were opened for girls, both of which were opened by missionaries for minority girls such as Christian, Jew, and Zoroastrian girls. Among the elite families, some provided their daughters with education through private tutors, but, for the most part, Muslim girls were denied education as the clergies feared female education would negatively impact the fabric of Islamic society. For the pious and faithful Muslim women, education was only acceptable when it was in agreement with the teachings of Islam. The first school for Muslim girls opened at the end of 19th century in 1899. Women's education began to increase by 1920 as 58 schools in Tehran provided education for nearly 3,000 girls.

During the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah and his western development model and policies, women's education accelerated much more rapidly during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Before the fall of his dynasty, women’s enrollment in universities was just over 30 percent.

When Khomeini reached power in 1979, under his rule, the government began to Islamisize the Shah’s westernized education system. To do this, they began purifying it to be culturally and religiously aligned with the new Islamic regime in Iran. The options for what women could study was halved, as the goal of purification of the Shah’s education system was to help the new system meet the needs of the society. Women were no longer able to study the following fields: veterinary medicine, geology, agricultural sciences, animal husbandry, and natural resources. These limitations were slowly lifted through lobbying efforts. By the end of the 20th century, all the limitations were lifted, and women were able to begin studying in these various fields. However, higher education was still male dominated.

Educational opportunities increased through the rule of Mohammad Khatami, who served as President of Iran from 1997-2005. Khatami viewed the home as the proper setting for Iranian women, yet did not seek to exclude women from participating in the public sphere. Noting the increasing dominance of women in higher education, Khatami stated that though the increase was concerning, he did not wish to create obstacles to reduce this participation. Khatami called for an opening of majors and specialties for women in universities and an end to the quota system, which was introduced after the Islamic revolution  in Iran to put a cap on women’s entrance to universities.

At the beginning of Khatami's presidency, over 95 percent of girls in Iran attended elementary school. In 1997-98, 38.2 percent of Iranian women enrolled in higher education. This number rose to 47.2 percent by 2000. As female enrollment in schooling continued to climb, the segregation of the sexes in academic specialization continued to persist through the end of the 1990s. In the 1998-99 academic year, males dominated enrollment in math-physics at 58% and technical fields with 71% of secondary school students. Women disproportionately enrolled in the humanities and the experimental sciences at 61 % of the enrollment. Gender specialization continued through the university level where a majority of women studied in the fields of basic sciences, medical sciences, and arts. Agriculture, veterinary science, engineering, and humanities were pursued mostly by men. Overall, however, the decade was characterized by a three-fold increase in female enrollment in higher education.

The statistics of the Khatami presidency show the slow rise of female participation in education. Women pursuing teaching positions in higher education also made gains during this period, as women held nearly half of all assistant professorships at universities, nearly double that held a decade before. However, the number of women accepted into tenure-track and full-time professorships in 2001-02 remained low at 17.3 %, which is disproportionate to the number of educated women in Iranian society.

Male-dominated fields were overtaken by females as female numbers dramatically increased in the medical fields from 51% female versus 49% male.

Data shows that nearly 80% of Iranian women are literate, but only 21% of these women are employed. In contrast, 85% of males are literate, and 79% of them are employed. In total, 40% of educated women are unemployed.

Over the past two decades, the number of women attending university institutions has multiplied. This rapid increase has caused concerns for the Iranian officials. In 2009, Iranian parliament (Majlis) questioned if they need to establish a quota for the number of women entering public colleges. The conservatives believe that the increase in women's access to higher education is contrary to Islamic values and can threaten the traditional family structure that forms the basis of Islamic society. (Zahedifar)

Despite all the improvement and advancement made concerning higher education for women, there have been many ups and downs regarding this issue. On August 6, 2012, the Mehr News Agency in Iran “posted a bulletin that 36 universities in the country had excluded women from 77 fields of study".  This was part of an effort by the parliament to put a quota on women's participation in higher education.

The increase in women’s enrollment in some fields is more apparent than others. For example, in 2008, 66% of students in medical sciences were women.

Economic Rights

During the Achaemenid Empire, women’s contribution to the economy was through their engagement in agricultural duties, such as sowing seeds, harvesting, and tending livestock, but their primary role in society was bearing children. In rural areas and amongst poor urban families, women contributed to the economy by specializing in trades, such as making clothing and carpets.

The rate of women’s participation and contribution to Iran's economy "has been 14.7 and 14.4 in urban and rural areas respectively. According to the statistics of the 2006 census, out of the total households having a woman head of 10-year-old and over, only 14.1% in the urban and 13.9 percent in the rural areas have been employed from an economic point of view".

Iran’s 2007 census showed that 10% of women were actively contributing to the economy. In contrast, over 60% of men were economically active. Statistics show that of the managerial positions available, the possibility of women obtaining such a position is one-third that of men.

As of 2006, women’s labor-force participation rates remained very low at 12.6% in rural areas with an overall rate of 12.5%. In contrast, the rate for men is 66.1%. This data is not truly reflective of reality as women's engagement in informal and private sectors are not included in the data. World Bank figure estimates women’s participation in all sectors at 32% and 75% for men. The estimated data for women’s leadership role is at 3.4% in 2006.

Political Rights

For a short period during the Achaemenian Empire, women rose to power due to a lack of an adult male heir. First Purandukht and later Azarmidukht were given the title king of kings and ruled the country for a year. Their reign was shortlived as the Zoroastrian priesthood was against female leadership.

For most of the Islamic era in Iran, women were not allowed to engage in state affairs. However, soon after the rise of the Safavid dynasty in the 16th century, women were allowed to contribute to state affairs. Women's position was still subordinate to men, but they were allowed to manage their personal property and participate in cultural activities.

Women gained a foothold in state affairs in the latter part of Pahlavi dynasty as they were given the right to vote. Iran’s Queen Farrah Pahlavi was at the forefront of the women’s movement and worked closely with the Shah to help women gain more rights in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It was during this period that the first woman was elected to Iran’s parliament, Dr. Farrakhroo Parsay, in 1963.

During the first decade after the revolution in the early 1990’s, there were only three women in parliament among the 268 members with women occupying 1.5% of the seats in the first three parliaments. Today, there are 17 women among the 271 individuals in parliament.

Therefore, women's presence doubled to 3.3% of the seats. The women in parliament have ratified a total of 35 bills concerning women’s issues.

Legal Rights

During Muhammad Reza Shah’s era, women were given the right to divorce or sue for divorce and also gained the right to vote. Abortion also became a right for women in cases such as rape. It was during this period that segregation laws were lifted and men and women were allowed to associate in public together.

Most initiatives concerning women’s rights during the Pahlavi dynasty began with the White Revolution in 1962, which eventually led to the enfranchisement of women. This enfranchisement came from the Prime Minister Asadollah Alam. Most revolutionary initiatives came with the White Revolution. A law was passed which gave women limited voting rights, allowing them the right to vote in local elections.

Protests led by Ayatollah Khomeini regarding voting rights resulted in the repeal of the law. Khomeini believed that such power for women was comparable to prostitution.

Since the voting rights law was repealed, women were not allowed to take part in a referendum held during the White Revolution. However, the Minister of Agriculture suggested that women’s movement leaders set up a voting booth to voice their suggestions. Though their votes did not count, the high number of women votes convinced Muhammad Reza Shah to grant women voting rights soon after the referendum. In September of the same year, 1963, in the parliamentary elections, six women were elected to the parliament, and two women were appointed by the Shah to serve in the Senate.

Sports

Women contributed to the development of polo, which originated in the royal courts of Persia 2,500 years ago. The queen and her ladies-in-waiting played against the emperor and his courtiers.[41]

Women participate in numerous sports in Iran and have represented the country in sporting events, such as the Asian Games, Olympic games, and World Cups. An issue that has been voiced particularly in recent years has been in regard to women’s participation at stadiums for men’s volleyball and soccer. Efforts have been made to allow women to enter Iranian stadiums alongside men, but the proposal has not yet been approved. The ban on women entering stadiums has caused an uproar among both men and women in Iran. It has been indicated numerous times by lawmakers that women’s duty is to raise children and not to attend sporting games.

Women are not allowed to ride bicycles in Iran pursuant to an Islamic fatwa issued by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader and autocrat. According to the Muslim clerics of Iran, if a man observes a woman riding a bicycle, it will lead to corruption in society with terrible consequences, including corruption that will lead to crime, sexual offenses, financial crimes, spiritual infidelity, religious disobedience, and many others.[42]

Women’s Rights Movement in Iran (revise)

Women’s efforts to seek equal rights date back to the 19th and early 20th centuries. There is little available information on women’s rights movements prior to the Qajar dynasty, but more accounts are available from the Qajar and post Qajar era. Women's movements in Iran can be divided into eight periods.

1905-1925: this period was during the constitutional revolution, which marked the end of the Qajar dynasty. Women’s efforts were mostly secretive, and their goals were to improve literacy, women’s health, and prevent polygamy and domestic violence.

1925-1940’s: This era is marked by the beginning of the Pahlavi dynasty and the reign of Reza Shah. It was a new era in which women were unveiled and gained access to universities.

1940’s-1950’s: The era of nationalization of Iran's oil industry brought women further access to education and political activism to some extent. However, aside from the Family Protection Law that failed and was repealed, no major reforms were made during this era.

1960’s-1970’s: During the era of the White Revolution and period of modernization, women saw greater legal reforms concerning voting rights, family protection laws, as well as an increase in women’s participation in the economy.

1979-1997: The era of the revolution featuring change to the political sphere, caused the closure of women’s centers and the decline of women’s contributions to the economy.

1997-2005: Khatami’s era and the era of reforms gave more access to the feminist press and free press.

2005-2013: The Ahmadinejad era or the neo-conservative era saw the increase of repression and the rise of unemployment.

2013- Present: The era of moderation under the rule of President Rouhani has not seen any major reforms related to the status of women as hardliners already repealed most reforms.

In the mid 19th century, Tahirih was the first woman to appear in public without wearing a veil, and she is known as the mother of the women’s rights movements in Iran. After Tahirih, there were others who followed in her footsteps to raise the status of women. Among these individuals was Safiya Yazdi, the wife of a leading clergy, Muhammad Husain Yazdi. Safiya Yazdi, with the support of her husband, opened Iffatiyah Girls School in 1910 and gained praise for her outspoken lectures on women’s issues.

Women in Iran are becoming increasingly informed about the current trends within global feminism. They are also becoming more transnationally engaged, especially with regard to the mechanisms, tools, and machineries created through the U.N. gender projects and conventions, such as CEDAW. However, due to the vetting power of the conservative Guardian Council, attempts made by the reformist deputies in the sixth Majlis to ratify CEDAW did not succeed. Most women activists, including Islamic as well as secular ones, have been framing their demands within the CEDAW framework.

In recent years, the government has made investments in women’s organizations and women's activist initiatives that seek to empower women to learn skills that can help women gain more independence.

The women's rights movement in Iran continues to attempt to institute reforms, particularly with the One Million Signatures Campaign to End Discrimination Against Women.[58]

Crimes against women[edit]
Amnesty International noted in 2008 that the extent and prevalence of violence against women in the Kurdish regions of Iran is impossible to quantify, but discrimination and violence against women and girls in the Kurdish regions is both pervasive and widely tolerated. Furthermore, Kurdish cultural norms which facilitate the practice of forced child marriage perpetuate the fear of violence amongst Kurdish girls in Iran.[68]  In 2008, self-immolation "occurred in all the areas of Kurdish settlement (in Iran), where it was more common than in other parts of Iran".[69] It was reported that in 2001, 565 women lost their lives in honor-related crimes in Ilam, Iran, of which 375 were reportedly staged as self-immolation.[69]

In Iran, honour killings occur primarily among tribal minority groups, such as the Kurdish, Arab, Lori, Baluchi, and Turkish-speaking tribes, while honor-related crimes are not a tradition among Persians who are generally less socially conservative. Discriminatory family laws, articles in the Criminal Code that show leniency towards honor killings, and a strongly male dominated society have been cited as causes of honor killings in Iran.[74]