Domestic violence in Iran
Encyclopedia
Domestic violence in Iran is complicated by cultural, political and legal systems that support violence against women
in the Islamic Republic of Iran
.
definition, domestic violence is: "the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another; also: a repeated or habitual pattern of such behavior."
Coomarswamy defines domestic violence as "violence that occurs within the private sphere, generally between individuals who are related through intimacy, blood or law…[It is] nearly always a gender-specific crime, perpetrated by men against women." It used is as a strong form of control and oppression.
Kofi Annan
, Secretary-General of the United Nations, declared in a 2006 report posted on the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) website that:
ideas of women as properties of men. It does so by setting up an unequal legal system and not punishing assault
even when it has resulted in severe injury
or at times even death. The conversation of domestic violence then cannot be simply domestic but begins to take the shape of a systematic violence, fueled by tradition, ignited by religion, encouraged by the dominant authoritarian
state, and empowered by poverty
and illiteracy
."
At the heart of the issue is the belief, rooted in common law
, that men are responsible for their household affairs, especially treatment of family members, and should not be subject to intervention by the government.
"Women should sacrifice themselves and tolerate" is an old Iranian saying that represents how most women manage domestic abuse.
Iranian feminists believe that women's issues must be further investigated since so many women are facing domestic violence in Iran. "Religious intellectuals have responded by engaging in reluctant analysis of the way the woman question poses itself in the Iranian context. So far, their analyses fail to take into account the gender implications of the struggle against absolutism
and traditional authority. However, the dynamic interaction of the reform project with demands and aspirations of various sectors of Iranian public life will not allow the issue to rest here. Religious intellectuals, in their attempt to recreate essential religious truth in the form of new intellectual concepts and systems, will increasingly have to deal with systemic gender inequalities in a more systematic manner."
Although the Iranian society is starting to recognize the issues surrounding beating women in Islamic household, many Muslims are reluctant to admit such issues exist. An argument is that hadith
s are not the word of God, but rather statements that historical Muslim figures, like Muhammad
, made. Iranian women argue that these hadiths could be misinterpreted and therefore should not be taken as orders or truth. A news article in the Washington Post by Pamela K. Taylor admits that "we must acknowledge that there are problematical verses in the Qur'an and there are certain hadith which must be countered."
statement regarding the nature of domestic violence:
The Census Bauru in Iran, an official government agency, has precluded international organizations from performing studies of domestic violence in Iran and has never conducted their own study of violence against women.
The prevalence of domestic violence has been cited as a cause of high rates of suicide
, mostly through self-immolation
, among Kurdish
women in Iran.
(WHO) study in Babol
found that within the previous year 15.0% of wives had been physically abused, 42.4% had been sexually abused and 81.5% had been psychologically abused (to various degrees) by their husbands, blaming low income, young age, unemployment and low education.
, led a study of domestic violence for a joint project undertaken by the Women's Center for Presidential Advisory, Ministry of Higher Education
and The Interior Ministry
. Other noted scholars, professionals, psychologists and socialists participated in the study of the capital cities in Iran's 28 provinces that resulted after several years in 32 volumes of results. The findings from questionnaires included the following areas of focus: violence towards women and children, marriages and remarriages, divorce, the effect of education and work on violence and family issues.
The 32 volume findings are available only to scholars and researchers at the Center for Research in Tehran and have been shared with governmental lawmakers and agencies. The study of Iran, a diverse country of many ethnical and cultural communities, resulted in varied results by province, and particularly different the further that women lived from Tehran
, the capital of Iran. This could be attributed to the lack of higher education, economics, and dominance of religion.
From the study:
for adultery
. For 12 years Najjar was the victim of physical abuse and was forced into prostitution
by her heroin addicted husband. Iranian Penal Code, Article 83, declares a married person commits adultery when they have sexual intercourse with anyone other than their spouse; That article applies even if they were forced into prostitution by their husband. Outraged by her plight, one of Najjar's clients murdered her husband and was convicted and sentenced to death; Kobra Najjar was also convicted as an accomplice and imprisoned for 8 years. Kobra Najjar was acquitted released after 13 years in prison, a recipient of work by the "Stop Stoning Forever" and her volunteer human rights lawyer.
Economically, divorce is rarely an option for Iranian women because they are financially dependent upon their husbands. With divorce, the father obtains custody of the children and can prevent the woman from seeing her children, a paradigm that prevents most women from talking to their family about abuse, and extremely unlikely to pursue any remedy with the government.
and PH.D
thesis
written about women's issues due by women in higher education, including universities in Iran
. Because the papers have been unable to result in change or improvements, many universities are now discouraging thesis based upon Iranian women's issues.
Moradian wrote in 2009 that "Human rights
organizations, political
/humanitarian
oppositional groups
and advocacy group
s for women were the only voices that acknowledged the existence of this widespread phenomenal in Iran and fought for changes in law and education within communities."
Domestic violence workshops and newspaper articles are bringing greater awareness to women's issues. Men at universities are doing research on women's issues, which may be a sign of movement toward greater social and economic equality.
Asadullah Abbas, Fatema Alia and Ramezan Shojaei Kiyasari, members of the Iranian parliament, represented Iran at the "Regional Seminar for Asian Parliaments" seminar on 'Preventing and responding to violence against women and girls: From legislation to effective enforcement' held in New Delhi
, India
in 2011. Mrs. Fatemeh Alia announced that new laws related to violence against women were placed on Iran's parliament agenda.
Under Iranian law there is no concept of marital rape. Women, under civil law, have a duty, called "tamkin", to submit to her husband, including his sexual demands.
The Islamic Republic of Iran generally ignores, sanctions and in some cases encourages violence against women. The government has laws that support violence against women in the case of adultery, including flogging
, imprisonment and death. Girls of 13 years of age or more are considered of legal marrying age.
, better protection and services for abuse victims, rehabilitation
(especially concerning domestic abuse) and better processes to manage questioning of female offenders. One of the keys to ultimate success is altering community cultural views regarding the use of violence against women.
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
Definition of Domestic Violence
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionaryWebster's Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary refers to the line of dictionaries first developed by Noah Webster in the early 19th century, and also to numerous unrelated dictionaries that added Webster's name just to share his prestige. The term is a genericized trademark in the U.S.A...
definition, domestic violence is: "the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another; also: a repeated or habitual pattern of such behavior."
Coomarswamy defines domestic violence as "violence that occurs within the private sphere, generally between individuals who are related through intimacy, blood or law…[It is] nearly always a gender-specific crime, perpetrated by men against women." It used is as a strong form of control and oppression.
Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
, Secretary-General of the United Nations, declared in a 2006 report posted on the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) website that:
Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemicPandemicA pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
proportions. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime with the abuser usually someone known to her.
National and political culture
In Iran the nature of domestic violence is complicated by both a national culture and authoritative state that support control, oppression and violence against women. "The government does so by promoting fundamentalistFundamentalism
Fundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...
ideas of women as properties of men. It does so by setting up an unequal legal system and not punishing assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
even when it has resulted in severe injury
Trauma (medicine)
Trauma refers to "a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident." It can also be described as "a physical wound or injury, such as a fracture or blow." Major trauma can result in secondary complications such as circulatory shock, respiratory failure and death...
or at times even death. The conversation of domestic violence then cannot be simply domestic but begins to take the shape of a systematic violence, fueled by tradition, ignited by religion, encouraged by the dominant authoritarian
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
state, and empowered by poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and illiteracy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
."
At the heart of the issue is the belief, rooted in common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
, that men are responsible for their household affairs, especially treatment of family members, and should not be subject to intervention by the government.
"Women should sacrifice themselves and tolerate" is an old Iranian saying that represents how most women manage domestic abuse.
Iranian feminists believe that women's issues must be further investigated since so many women are facing domestic violence in Iran. "Religious intellectuals have responded by engaging in reluctant analysis of the way the woman question poses itself in the Iranian context. So far, their analyses fail to take into account the gender implications of the struggle against absolutism
Moral absolutism
Moral absolutism is an ethical view that certain actions are absolutely right or wrong, regardless of other contexts such as their consequences or the intentions behind them. Thus stealing, for instance, might be considered to be always immoral, even if done to promote some other good , and even if...
and traditional authority. However, the dynamic interaction of the reform project with demands and aspirations of various sectors of Iranian public life will not allow the issue to rest here. Religious intellectuals, in their attempt to recreate essential religious truth in the form of new intellectual concepts and systems, will increasingly have to deal with systemic gender inequalities in a more systematic manner."
Although the Iranian society is starting to recognize the issues surrounding beating women in Islamic household, many Muslims are reluctant to admit such issues exist. An argument is that hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
s are not the word of God, but rather statements that historical Muslim figures, like Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, made. Iranian women argue that these hadiths could be misinterpreted and therefore should not be taken as orders or truth. A news article in the Washington Post by Pamela K. Taylor admits that "we must acknowledge that there are problematical verses in the Qur'an and there are certain hadith which must be countered."
Incidence of domestic abuse in Iran
In his article "Domestic Violence against Single and Married Women in Iranian Society ", Azad Moradian quoted a National Coalition Against Domestic ViolenceNational coalition against domestic violence
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence is an organization founded in 1978 in Washington, D.C. with a goal to “organize our collective power by advancing transformative work, thinking and leadership in communities and individuals who seek to end violence in our lives.” The organization not...
statement regarding the nature of domestic violence:
Violence against women is often accompanied by emotionally abusivePsychological abusePsychological abuse, also referred to as emotional abuse or mental abuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder...
and controlling behavior, and thus is part of a systematic pattern of dominance and control. Domestic violence results in physical injury, psychological traumaPsychological traumaPsychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...
, and sometimes death. The consequences of domestic violence can cross generations and truly last a lifetime.
The Census Bauru in Iran, an official government agency, has precluded international organizations from performing studies of domestic violence in Iran and has never conducted their own study of violence against women.
The prevalence of domestic violence has been cited as a cause of high rates of suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, mostly through self-immolation
Self-immolation
Self-immolation refers to setting oneself on fire, often as a form of protest or for the purposes of martyrdom or suicide. It has centuries-long traditions in some cultures, while in modern times it has become a type of radical political protest...
, among Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
women in Iran.
World Health Organization study
A World Health OrganizationWorld Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
(WHO) study in Babol
Babol
Babol is a city in and the capital of Babol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 198,636, in 55,943 families....
found that within the previous year 15.0% of wives had been physically abused, 42.4% had been sexually abused and 81.5% had been psychologically abused (to various degrees) by their husbands, blaming low income, young age, unemployment and low education.
2004 domestic violence study
In 2004 Dr. Ghazi Tabatabaei, a renowned Iranian sociologistSociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, led a study of domestic violence for a joint project undertaken by the Women's Center for Presidential Advisory, Ministry of Higher Education
Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (Iran)
The Ministry of Science, Research and Technology is the government ministry of science, research and technology in the Islamic Republic of Iran...
and The Interior Ministry
Ministry of Interior (Iran)
The Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Republic of Iran is in charge of performing, supervising and reporting elections, and policing, among other responsibilities related to the interior....
. Other noted scholars, professionals, psychologists and socialists participated in the study of the capital cities in Iran's 28 provinces that resulted after several years in 32 volumes of results. The findings from questionnaires included the following areas of focus: violence towards women and children, marriages and remarriages, divorce, the effect of education and work on violence and family issues.
The 32 volume findings are available only to scholars and researchers at the Center for Research in Tehran and have been shared with governmental lawmakers and agencies. The study of Iran, a diverse country of many ethnical and cultural communities, resulted in varied results by province, and particularly different the further that women lived from Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, the capital of Iran. This could be attributed to the lack of higher education, economics, and dominance of religion.
From the study:
- 66% married women in Iran are subjected to some kind of domestic violence in the first year of their marriage, either by their husbands or by their in-laws.
- All married women who were participants in this study in Iran have experienced 7.4% of the 9 categories of abuse.
- The more children in a family, the more likely domestic violence will occur towards women.
- 9.63% of women in the study reported wishing their husbands would die, as a result of the abuse they have experienced.
| Main category of abuse | Statistic | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal abuse Verbal abuse Verbal abuse is best described as a negative defining statement told to you or about you; or by withholding any response thus defining the target as non-existant... |
Not provided in the article abstract. | |
| Physical abuse Physical abuse Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object... |
8.37% of married women in the study reported having experienced severe physical abuse. | |
| Emotional abuse Psychological abuse Psychological abuse, also referred to as emotional abuse or mental abuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder... |
52% of married women in the study reported having experienced emotional abuse. | |
| Economical abuse, such as: refusing her right to have a job, restricting her opportunities, taking her income, restricting allowance | Not provided in the article abstract. | |
| Legal abuse Legal abuse Legal abuse refers to abuses associated with both civil and criminal legal action. Abuse can originate from nearly any part of the legal system, including frivolous and vexatious litigants, abuses by law enforcement, incompetent, careless or corrupt attorneys and misconduct from the judiciary... , for example: a husband has a legal right in Iran to take his wife's full rights away, by restricting her from traveling, and going out of the house |
Not provided in the article abstract. | |
| Educational abuse: restricting the right to go to school | 7.27% of married women in the study reported having experienced educational and career restrictions. | Women who have a higher education and are career women experience a lower level of domestic violence. |
| Neglect Neglect Neglect is a passive form of abuse in which a perpetrator is responsible to provide care for a victim who is unable to care for himself or herself, but fails to provide adequate care.... by restricting food or not feeding/adequately providing for a family |
Not provided in the article abstract. | |
| Sexual abuse Sexual abuse Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester... , including unwanted sexual activity within a marital relationship, including rape Rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The... , forced pregnancy Pregnancy (mammals) In mammals, pregnancy is the period of reproduction during which a female carries one or more live offspring from implantation in the uterus through gestation. It begins when a fertilized zygote implants in the female's uterus; and ends once it leaves the uterus.-Fertilization and implantation:A... , forced abortion Abortion Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced... s, restricting wife's access to health care Health care Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers... and birth control Birth control Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion... , extra-marital affairs Extramarital sex Extramarital sex occurs when a married person engages in sexual activity with someone other than his or her marriage partner.Where extramarital sexual relations breach a sexual norm it may also be referred to as adultery, fornication, philandery, or infidelity... |
2.10% of married women in the study reported having experienced sexual abuse; however, this number could be severely under reported due to the taboo surrounding the topic. Of the women who reported sexual abuse, 5.2% reported having a miscarriage Miscarriage Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation... due to severe beatings by her husband. |
|
| Honor killing Honor killing An honor killing or honour killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or community... s and murder Murder Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide... |
5.23% of married women in the study reported having experienced near death violence or feared for their lives due to domestic violence. | The chief of police in Iran stated that 40% of all murders in Iran happen due to domestic violence and that 50% of all women who are murdered are done so by someone in their immediate family and mostly from the woman's home. |
Kobra Najjar
Kobra Najjar is one of several cases in Iran who was sentenced to be executed to death by stoningStoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
for adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
. For 12 years Najjar was the victim of physical abuse and was forced into prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
by her heroin addicted husband. Iranian Penal Code, Article 83, declares a married person commits adultery when they have sexual intercourse with anyone other than their spouse; That article applies even if they were forced into prostitution by their husband. Outraged by her plight, one of Najjar's clients murdered her husband and was convicted and sentenced to death; Kobra Najjar was also convicted as an accomplice and imprisoned for 8 years. Kobra Najjar was acquitted released after 13 years in prison, a recipient of work by the "Stop Stoning Forever" and her volunteer human rights lawyer.
Battered women's shelters
The government is opposed to construction of battered women's shelters.Divorce
There is a significant disparity between treatment of men and women in marriage and divorce.- Men may marry up to 4 girls and woman. They may divorce a woman when they choose.
- Woman. It is very difficult for girls and women to divorce men. Often they are forced to stay in abusive marriages. They may lose custody of their children that are older than age 7 to her husband and father-in-law. Since a woman's testimony is only worth half of a man's testimony, it is very difficult to prove domestic abuse.
Economically, divorce is rarely an option for Iranian women because they are financially dependent upon their husbands. With divorce, the father obtains custody of the children and can prevent the woman from seeing her children, a paradigm that prevents most women from talking to their family about abuse, and extremely unlikely to pursue any remedy with the government.
Education and activism
Since about 1994 there have been an overwhelming number of Masters'Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
and PH.D
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
written about women's issues due by women in higher education, including universities in Iran
Higher education in Iran
Iran has a large network of private, public, and state affiliated universities offering degrees in higher education. State-run universities of Iran are under the direct supervision of Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and Ministry of Health and Medical Education .-Pre-Islamic...
. Because the papers have been unable to result in change or improvements, many universities are now discouraging thesis based upon Iranian women's issues.
Moradian wrote in 2009 that "Human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organizations, political
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
/humanitarian
Humanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
oppositional groups
Opposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...
and advocacy group
Advocacy group
Advocacy groups use various forms of advocacy to influence public opinion and/or policy; they have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems...
s for women were the only voices that acknowledged the existence of this widespread phenomenal in Iran and fought for changes in law and education within communities."
Domestic violence workshops and newspaper articles are bringing greater awareness to women's issues. Men at universities are doing research on women's issues, which may be a sign of movement toward greater social and economic equality.
Asadullah Abbas, Fatema Alia and Ramezan Shojaei Kiyasari, members of the Iranian parliament, represented Iran at the "Regional Seminar for Asian Parliaments" seminar on 'Preventing and responding to violence against women and girls: From legislation to effective enforcement' held in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 2011. Mrs. Fatemeh Alia announced that new laws related to violence against women were placed on Iran's parliament agenda.
Laws
Existing laws (Iranian Code of Criminal Procedure articles 42, 43, 66) intend to prohibit violence in the form of kidnapping, gender-based harassment, abuse of pregnant women and "crimes against rights and responsibilities within the family structure," but due to cultural and political culture do not protect women, prosecute their abusers and provide services to victims.Under Iranian law there is no concept of marital rape. Women, under civil law, have a duty, called "tamkin", to submit to her husband, including his sexual demands.
The Islamic Republic of Iran generally ignores, sanctions and in some cases encourages violence against women. The government has laws that support violence against women in the case of adultery, including flogging
Flagellation
Flagellation or flogging is the act of methodically beating or whipping the human body. Specialised implements for it include rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails and the sjambok...
, imprisonment and death. Girls of 13 years of age or more are considered of legal marrying age.
Proposed laws
Laws to better enforce existing laws and protect women against violence were placed on the agenda before the Iranian parliament the week ending 16 September 2011, focusing on both protection and prevention of violence against women, including focus on human traffickingHuman trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
, better protection and services for abuse victims, rehabilitation
Rehabilitation (penology)
Rehabilitation means; To restore to useful life, as through therapy and education or To restore to good condition, operation, or capacity....
(especially concerning domestic abuse) and better processes to manage questioning of female offenders. One of the keys to ultimate success is altering community cultural views regarding the use of violence against women.