July 10, 2008

Women Status in Iran

Posted in women at 1:49 pm by parmis

Woman status In Iran

An article by Fereshteh Amir Moradi

Translated by parmis saadi

 

In ancient and new history of Iran continuously there have been two perspectives in regard of women. One of them is modern and the other one is reactionary. Women stressed by these contradicted perspectives, in a way that some times they were metamorphosed and annexed to a doctrine that had been opposed to their humane capabilities and nature.

 

A researcher who try to identify the root of Iranian woman identity, find that in ancient Iran women not only had an equal position in view of their people, but also had a superior position. In another ages different historical events caused Iranian women to be declined. If we come back to thousand years before Christ, we see that in ancient Iran culture of agricultural society encourage procreation and fertility, as women were procreative and responsible for feeding, they were adored too. In that ages the first attempt for agriculture was done by women. In those societies women who  were responsible for administrating clan affairs could acquire spiritual positions, while they formed the chain link of family, because women transfer clan blood in purest form which in sociology call it matriarchy.

 

We can say that delay in emerging governmental cities and government was due to stability of nonviolent matriarchal system in form of village societies with improved social ground. 

 

Knowing about the origin of Arian race is important to know about historical identity of Iranian women. To do so, we should be familiar with culture of these people as a patriarchal society. They immigrated to one of the oldest matriarchal land in the world. Integration of these contradicted culture and its outcome made Iran culture and civilization. In another word, Iran was the land of matriarchs that patriarchs dominated thereon.

 

Social organization of Arians was like a pyramid and at the pick of this pyramid; a man with the name of father was responsible for the clan leadership. In stores of this pyramid we reach to family system which the father as the chief of the family. Therefore, women and girls under leadership and direction and domination of fathers, husbands, and sons continued reproduction of human resources beside their housework.

 

They had not significant role in social affairs. Graduate domination of patriarchy and formation of different social classes gradually affect women power. Nowadays studying pervious governments who ruled Iran suggesting complete deprivation of middle class women and deprivation of high-class women privileges such as education rights, sport, governmental positions, divorce right and …

 

At the end of Gajar dynasty gradually many movement formed for women rights and facilities. Include establishment of new style schools by Armenians and Europeans missionaries. In these schools, Armenians girls were allowed to educate. Although women played a significant role in constitution movement, they were deprived from suffrage and election in the first parliament enactment. women causes continued in form of establishment of associations, until Pahlavid era that women accessed to some economic, social and family rights relatively. In consequence, polygamy was restricted to 4 wives. Marriage portion and payment thereof was enforced by law. All women were allowed to study in higher educations. Finally, women acquired suffrage in 1962 and 21 women were elected as parliamentarians. Age of marriage determined 15 for girls and 18 for boys. Polygamy was authorized just with official permission of court. Women employment were allowed without their husband permission. They acquired divorce right, and men divorce right was subject to court approval.

 

After revolution, came to power those who in one hand believed in history absolutism and adoption of new era to the beginning of Islam. Their view was a traditional perspective with inclination to a dogmatism- reactionary ideology that caused cessation of social values.

In another hand, some of them believed in reform with inclination to present. They believed that tradition conflict with modernism should be reformed by Islamic jurisprudence, because jurisprudence is power motor of Islam. They believed in absolute reality. During conflicts of revolutionist, there were two radical groups in field of activities in regards of women issues. One who believed that Mohammad Reza shah policies were imperialism volitions in reality and in their view, talking about women rights was a political apostasy. They spread the theory that while country major problems would be solved in scheme of revolution ideologies, women problems will solve automatically, then we should not consider women issues abstractly.

 

Another group was a religious group that assumed women attendance in different social activities as signs of profanes and blasphemy and attacked thereto. In consequence, in primary days of revolutions, which both groups had access to levers of power, they formed violent culture against women by compromise with each other. Then by overcoming traditional view in initial days of revolution, some retreat and some reform took place. Of course, in regard of women drawbacks were more than reforms.

Following educational facilities, women are capable of education in different fields of higher education. In 1998, 28 percent of girls accepted in university while in 2002 this figure increased to 52 percent. Dispatching girl students to aboard is still subject to their husband permission.

 

Although marriage before puberty is forbidden, but puberty age determined 9 for girls and 15 for boys, and father and grandfather were allowed to agree with engagement before pubescence, while marriage of a virgin girl only is accepted by his father permission in any age except under special condition and court permission. Men can divorce their wife at will, but woman have divorce right that is  subject to 12 conditions. Most of the time divorce is not possible although all conditions are met, because judge decision in accepting the case is influential, and the ways of escaping are available. Of course woman can include some rights in their marriage title deed like divorce right which is fulfilled by complete proxy of their husbands. Woman can travel abroad only by their husband permission, and husband can pull away their permission whenever they like and can ask for prohibition of their departure. So women spend their single life under their father domination, their marital life under their husband domination, and their occupation life under masculine employers’ domination that impose their test on them. They feel insecurity under domination of traditions of extreme adversity against woman. They are so adapted to violation in their intellectual worlds that show little reaction.

In whole, we can say that violence against women occurred in both private and general areas. Private areas include all forms of violation against woman in family environment and it is called domestic violence. Such as not freedom for recreational activities, restriction and prohibition for going out of home, deprivation from education, enforcement, and obligatory early marriage with a lot of age differences.( these issues are more obvious in families and regions with poor economy and culture, and in cities and regions that traditions have power beyond religion and laws.)

 

In husband houses, the husbands are the chief of the family and responsible for family sustenance that result in restriction and financial hardship,  they put limitation on relation  of their wives with friends and relatives. Cursing, beating and… are another forms of violence that women endure in their husband houses.

 

General areas include:

-         Tribal customs and traditions in rural areas where these customs and traditions are more powerful than laws.

-         Oral and written culture, which in form of proverbs act against women.

-         Justifying violence against women by a general system which its legislations after enactment, should be approved by intensive traditional Guardian Council, and also agitate violent people, and claim that they are acting according to religious behaviors, under cover of enjoining virtues and forbidding  evils and under shariah laws.

 

If we define violation as all form of violent act based on gender that cause possible or absolute psychological and physical injury, and if we know that violence has different forms such as sexual, financial, physical, psychological, and political, then Iranian women are under all kinds of violence.

 

Studying the researches in family and women area, we find that, violence against women is an international problem.

As minimum statistics show:

30-50% of American women are under their husband’s physical abuse.

63% of murdered women in Canada killed by their husbands.

More than 50% of murders in Bangladesh were due to men violence.

In India 41% of suicidal attempts of women were for physical abuse that they endured.

In studying the theories about violence of men against women, we should follow structural factors that predispose families for violence. Many theories were presented in this regard:

* Patriarchal theory: According to this theory, one of the causes of marital violence is that traditional families reflect a discipline that is imposed by men, and this discipline confirms the uneven social structure. This imbalance has its root in history and social traditions.

* Micro culture theory: this theory says that violent responds are transferred by learning, and because family is the first and major source of learning, so these behaviors are learned at home, then family relations not only teach violent responses but also they are important elements in accepting violence in society.

* Gender inequality theory: this theory assumes that women and men have different and unequal situation. Women in compare with men who are at the same social status, have access to less financial resources, social prestige, and opportunity to fulfill their own desire.  

* Psychological theory:  this theory suggest variants such as mental backwardness, psychological diseases and personal characteristics as factors of violence

 

Marya Ruys in a research find that the most violent behaviors occur in 2.5-5 years after marriage. 81 percent of husbands who beat their wives have been witness of their mother abuse and 66.7 percent of women who were beaten have been witness of their mother ill-treatment.

Christian Anderson (1997) found that, men who have lower economic status in relation to their wives commit violence 3.5 percent more than those who have equal right with their wives.

 

In Iran Fereshteh Amir Moradi studied on files of those who referred to forensic medicine and found that 99% of these women had bruise and contusion sign on their bodies. 43% had intensive depression, and 65% had very low self-confidence.

 

In a survey Bashir nazparvar and Farzaneh Bayat found that:

-         Most victims were 20- 40 years old.

-         Referring to forensic medicine is more common in educated women.

-         Those who live with their husband’s family are abused more than other women are.

-         Men who had been in jail and had background of alcohol and narcotic usage and polygamy abuse their wives more than the others do.

-         Addiction and physical aggression in youth that their family used to abuse women are more than the other families are.

 

In whole, researches show factors that predispose domestic violence especially men violence against women is as follow:

# Lower social –financial and education status of men in relation to their wives.

# Men who were witness of their mother abuse by their father

# Women who are dependent to their mother by their father

# Women who are dependent to their husbands financially and psychologically

# living with husband family

# Men with background of alcohol and narcotic usage and polygamy

Conclusion:

The most conflicts are seen in those families that the woman has modern view and the man has a traditional view. In determination of violence in families, this disparity showed a significant role.

 The other phenomenon in recent years is that municipality (under title of khaneye – farhang, khaneye salamt), Imam Khomeini Aid Committee, Welfare Organization took some measures such as establishment of workshops, educational and skill courses, sport centers in urban and rural areas in order to increase life skills and raise awareness of people and improve people culture.

 

Because of economic crisis, and because men are responsible for family financial affairs, cannot improve their status because they do not have leisure time.

In the other hand, women have more time and also feel more need to these educations to solve family problems and educate their children. Gradually women improved more than men did and nowadays we are witness of outstanding cultural differences between men and women, while men because of engagement in financial problems declined more than ever and because they spent more time in their occupation environment, they expect more obedience and unconditional acceptance. In consequence, women ask for more sympathy. Their emotional and commiseration needs have increased. So going to different pathways cause increase in adversity and violence. This problem in families who are independent financially increases divorce rate. In families that women are dependant to their husbands financially or grown up in a poor cultural and economic environment, result in escaping from home or suicide. We can see depression breakout among Iranian society, especially women. A research in Loghman hospital suggest that 65% of children who commit suicide, their fathers have been depressed and 95% of these children had a depressed mother whom their depression raise from inharmonious and unsuitable environment and financial problem.

 

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