Payam Zan
Womens Message
A Special Feature on
`Women in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Vol. 13, No.156, March 2005
IN THIS ISSUE:
Family, Society
Proprietor: Islamic propagation Office of the Qum Seminary
Chief Director: Muhammad Ja`fari Giláni
Editor-in-chief: Seyyed Ziá Murtazawi
Centra Office: P.O.Box 37185-165, Qom, Iran
Tel-Fax: (0251) 7733305
Abstracts
Trans: Ahmad Reza Jalili and Seyyed Abbás Huseini
Editorial
Women in the Islamic Republic of Iran and their Present Status
A quarter of a century after the Islamic Revolution gained victory over the ex-regime, this question is raised, `What is the present status of women and what is the function of the Islamic Republic of Iran?
In view of the fact that the special feature under the title "Women in the Islamic Republic of Iran" deals with women in the Islamic Republic in two theoretical and functional realms over the last 25 years, in this editorial the emphasis is generally put on the achievements in the theoretical realm.
Marriage, A Hope or A Reality?
Faribá Ibtiháj
Marriage is considered to be one of our social concerns which has become a widespread challenge.
The Islamic Revolution created a wide range of new values in society among which marriage was a case in point. However, despite the changes that occurred after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, The enormous efforts made by related institutions and organizations to alleviate the problems about marriage as well as the protection laws which have been passed so far. This trend was not followed seriously and various demographic, social, cultural and economic factors have done a great deal of harm to the primary achievements. The study of this subject by experts from the psychological and social perspectives within the framework of statistical analysis and fieldwork comprises the major part of this article. Marriage with foreign subjects, polygamy, and temporary marriage have only been of marginal interest to the writer.
Women, Family Efficiency, the Strategy of the Islamic System
The Office of Womens Studies and Researches-Qom
is one of the well-known centres which makes researches on the field of womens affairs and the family from its own perspective whose report was offered previously in a separate abstract.
This article offers the analytical statement published in Mordad 1382 AH(solar) on the occasion of the Mothers Day under the title Women, Efficient Family, the Strategic Approach of the Islamic System, which reveals the way this scientific research looks at some of the womens affairs and their family. Regarding the fact that there are some consideration and reflections as to the statement and its approach to the womens current affairs and that this article cannot provide enough space to deal with it in detail, the reader is provided with the remarkable subjects offered and the way the Office look at womens affairs. The necessity of a new look at the family, efficient family, inefficient family and their manifestations and efficiency requirements as well as contributory factors to family inefficiency comprise the central subjects of the statement in question.
Undermining Families; are Women Gulity or Victims?
Tayyibah Mirzá Iskandari
The eighth principle in the Islamic law of the Islamic Republic of Iran reads "Since family constitutes the basic unit of Islamic community, all related regulations, laws, and plans should aim at smoothing the way to solving the problems of marriage, preserving the sacredness of marriage and establishing family ties on the basis of Islamic rights and moral standards." Some, however, believe that the large scale participation of women in social and political activities, the new role they play, and the legal support and practical strategy concerning women have been behind the decay of the family in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Is this really the case? Are women really held accountable?
The present article attempts to answer the above-mentioned questions. Having reviewed the changes in the role of women and family which occured in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the causes behind these changes, the researcher confesses that the structure of family in Iran is becoming weaker and she attributes this problem to the curtailment of those who took charge of the cultural affairs in the country and to the incompatibility of their action with the scientific plans and slogans which they raised. As for womens responsibility in what has come about, it was very limited, but as victims they are suffering most.
The Status and Role of Mothers in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Maryam Mueinolislam
The great significance attached to the role of mothers in the Islamic educational and legal system and the superior status of mothers in promoting culture on various levels, ranging from family to society, require that the authorities in the Islamic government should ensure the rights of women and maintain their dignity in all respects in conformity with Islamic criteria.
This article seeks to cast light on the status and dignity of mothers in the Islamic Republic of Iran by looking at the protection laws concerning mothers whose dignity is the reflection of Imam khomeinis high level of performance.
Education and Growth of Young Girls, Responsibilities, Successes and Facts
Maryam Arshadi
In the view of religious doctrines, when education and research studies or the teaching and learning process go side by side they can contribute to attaining perfection. The Islamic Revolution with its religious and educational perspective also considers this question as one of the essential objectives of the educational system in the Islamic Republic of Iran. It should be made clear that during the last twenty five years, the two educational elements already mentioned did not go side by side with the spiritual ideals through which perfection can be achieved, and so the wide _ ranging expansion faced a lot of problems which resulted in some kind of social disorder.
In an attempt to cast light on girls education in social, scientific and religious areas, the article examines a number of questions including the proportion of girls opportunity to learn and the proposed good examples of hijab, liesure time, and marriage.
Then, it suggests ways for putting these things into practice taking in consideration the existing circumstances.
The Spread of Violence If Law Becomes Ineffective
Homirá Haydarian
Although the period which followed the Islamic Revolution witnessed cultural changes which contributed to setting right many ideas which people used to have about women and to peoples acquaintance with the rights prescribed for men and for women by Islam, the past mentality of mans superiority and the lack of sufficient protection which law guarantees for women leaves open the book of the tragic story of exercising violence against women. According to experts and specialists, the main factors of exercising violence against women are the essential differences in abilities, cultural beliefs and social structure.
Shedding light on the international attempts to put an end to exercising violence against women, the article points to the major factors of exercising violence against women in cultural, economic, legal and political areas. It also investigates the kinds of voilence exercised at home and outside, the legal ways of encountering this social problem and the deficiences existing in this respect.
Divorce; what is the solution?
An Analysis of the problem of Divorce in Iran in An Interview with Some Experts
Zohreh Dehkhodá,Muhammadkazim Etminán
Prepared by: Nafiseh Muhammadi
Though it is not pleasant in any society, divorce is inevitable in certain cases and the available evidence suggests that the societies which have considered it as something forbidden eventually have come to accept it. This is why an attempt has been made first to control the growth of divorce and second to decrease its negative consequences and third to make it lawful. Islamic law, too, offers its doctrines concerning the aboue-mentioned three objectives as it does in the case of other social and human issues.
Though the growth of divorce rate has caused great concerns in recent years, it can not be measured as a social crisis. The contributory factors to the growth of divorce rate seem to be natural in certain cases while 1% or 2% increase in the divorce rate has been of great concern for the experts and those who are in charge of administration in sociery. The fact that five, six or even seven in one hundred marriages end in divorce, though it seems to be an unhappy phenomenon it is not worrisome as a social crisis seems to be. However the 3% or 2% and even 1% increase in divorce rate in a short-term is a cause of great concern and a subject of serious consideration. The latest statistics on divorce rate in 1381 shows that in every one hundred marriages end in divorce, which, when compared with the statistics on divorce in many western contries, seem to be much lower but alarming (threatening) for our Islamic society and the administration, though its increase is only up to 2% or 3% in comparison with that in the early years after the Islamic Revolution.
An interview with three experts who are highly experienced in this field was carried out to examine and discuss the contributory factors to divorce-rate and offer some solutions for decreasing it. The participants in this interview are the Deputy of Education of court of Justice, the Director of the Center for Jurisprudential Researches of Judiciary, the Deputy of the Office of Welfare in the province of Qom, and the president of the family Court.
One Should Respect the Institution of Famil
Ahmad Abidini
In the Quranic view, formation of family requires mental and psychological peace, intimacy, kindness and affection which are heavily stressed by Islam.
The author holds that, in addition to what is mentioned above, there must be a certain designer to orgnize family relations which today face challenges arising from the spread of existentialism. He sees that there are some factors which have negative effects on the unity of family, which Islam considers essential for a sustainable family. Among these factors are the increase of economic problems, womens employment, weak administrative relations of family and disregarding of the natural needs of women and men. Although this view can be subject to analysis and criticism, the authors main concern is to ensure familys safety and soundness, which he considers essential for the stability of todays societies.
Women Supporting the Family in the Grip of not Very Successful protection Plans
Homeirá Haydarian
According to the official statistics, women who support their families constitute about nine percent of Iranian women. The special situation and the numerous problems these women face require that these women and their families should be given much more and special attention as well as care and prottection than the others by official institution in our society. However, ample evidence shows that whik such organizations as the Imam khomeini Assistance Committee and scores of other non-governmental institutions or organizations are working hard in this field and have offered and are offering considerable services to them, but there exist serious problems with some of which the reader get familiar in this article. The lack of efficient protection laws and plans and the numerous divergent (dispersed) accountable centers are still the major problems in this area which there is hope that they will be settled by forming the Ministry of Welfare.
A Glance at the Status of Family in the Next Twenty Years
in an Interview with Some Experts
Tayyibah Mirzâeskandari
Forming a family has been faced with certain problems in recent years. Even though, contrary to what is commonly said, it does not seem to have achieved an enormous growth, its growth even by 1% or 2% is noticeable. This will prove to be worrisome if its growth rate is not controlled. The explosive growth of population in 1360 - 1365, the growth in the number of girls who have won the opportunity to enter higher education and the increasing expansion of information and, as a consequence, breaking up family interrelations are considered by the experts as the significant predictive factors in determining the family situation in the next two decades. The major part of concerns and hopes come from this. This issue has been the subject of discussion by some experts like Sadr al-Din Belâdi°, Husein Bânki, Ashraf Gerâmizâdegân and Fereshteh Valimorâd.
Womens Employment and the Challenges they Face
Seddiqeh `Aálâfar
The high level of participation by women, who comprise half the population, in economic activities is considered as one of the essential and inevitable principles of development in economic, social and cultural projects and plans in all human societies, and this is of remarkable significance in an emerging Islamic country like Iran which ranks among developing countries in the world.
This article seeks to examine the present employment condition of women in certain countries in the world as well as in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the position of womens employment in the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, working women, the contributory factors in decreasing womens participation in the development process and womens employment and their multiple roles.
Professional Women at a Glance
Leyla Ahmadâbâdipùr
No doubt, the Islamic Republic of Iran, following the Islamic doctrines and being aware of the need for skilled or professional women, has opened up a wide range of opportunities for women to promote academic knowledge in various fields in spite of all manner of problems it has faced with. The figures provide concrete evidence of this growth. The growth of womens scientific and academic knowledge in recent decades is so remarkable that, as statistical indexes suggest, women have taken precedence over men in certain areas. Nevertheless, it is evident that there is a clear gap between the present condition, especially in the political realm, and the desired condition. Presenting a definite model for the concept "specialization", the article seeks to show, according to statistics, the number of female specialists who are working in various educational, cultural, political, economical and artistic fields throughout the country.
Women and Girls Nutrition in the Islamic Republic of Iran
The office of Improving Societys Nutrition
The advances made in the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially in the recent years in the field of hygiene, therapy and nutrition are so striking that they have attracted the attention of the world and deserved others admiration. One of the standards of the advance and developmen in this field is represented in the nutrition of people from all walks of life which, according to statistics, seems promising. The nutrition of girls and women, the builders of the future of society, and the suitable ground for human development are among the factors that have increasing social effects, which the article discusses.
The article focuses on a number of issues and provides statistic evidences to support the discussion. Among these issues are: the indications of girls and womens nutrition in the post _ Revolution period and its state during the last twenty years, the preventive steps taken by the related institutions for the improvement of nutrition, the nutritional model and the challenges which it can encounter and the nutritional state in Iran in contrast with that of other countries.
Family Planning in Iran, Health-oriented Approach instead of population-oriented Approach in an Interview with Dr. Husein Malekafdali
Faribá Ibtiháj
The question of birth control in the Islamic Republic of Iran has had its ups and downs and has passed through the stage of great encouragement to populationn growth in the first decade after the Revolution into the culture ûthe less children, the better life you will have in the third decade.
This subject can be examined from both theoretical and administrative perspective. However, in this interview, the function of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding birth control and its consequences from the point of view of one of the active managers in this field has been taken into consideration.
The question whether or not the way in which Dr. Malekafdali looks at this issue and the current policy is convincing for the opponents of birth control, especially those who feel concerns for the population composition, can be followed in this interview.
An Introduction to Womens Social Safety; Policies and Plans
Muhammad Mahdi Bihdarwand
Generally, improvement of social, cultural, economic and political conditions of women helps to raise womens living and safety standards. Women nowaday both in the world and in Iran - like men - differ in making progress. Among the most important causes of this difference is unequal and insufficient access to potentialities and resources of development. Considering the significant role of women in ensuring safety for family and society, there is a great need for making preparations, planning and coordinating between the different institutions of the country and thus raising the safety standards of women and paving the ground for their large scale participation in developing the country and in the field of hygiene.
To satisfy the discussion, the article investigates a number of issues including the right of safety, justice and ensuring safety, womens mental health, nutrition, fruitful hygiene, employment, culture and customs. Afterwards the problems which take place have been dealt with.
Iranian Women and Their Role in the Large - Scale Development
Farahnaz Rustami
That recognition of womens role in development contributes to the attainment of sustainable development is undeniable. In order to underline the importance of paying more attention to womens role in achieving the objectives of a large - scale development, especially human development, the present article reviews the role and special position of Iranian women in the various aspects of cultural, economic, social and political development.
The focal points in the discussion are: the role Iranian women play in the cultural development of the country, the role of Iranian women in worlds social development, Irans status in international view, rural womens role in engagment in work and their role in agricultural activities, womens participation in national political activities as an undeniable necessity, and womens training as a means of achieving the objectives of Irans national development.
Womens Participation in the Nations Higher Education
Seddigheh Bbrán
Quantitative or Qualitative Participation? The available researches show that womens access to modern higher education, before and after the Islamic Revolution, has passed through four stages: deprivation, inequality, sex discrimination, and compensation.
Women and girls achievements in the realm of education, especially in higher education during the fourth stage, i.e., from the second decade after the victory of the Islamic Revolution up to the present time, is the most outstanding and brilliant event in the realm of womens educational activities, which represents increase in their self-confidence and self-fulfilment so that they seem to take precedence over men in gaining access to higher education that is available in universities and colleges.
In recent studies, the consequences of this social phenomenon reveal the fact that the growing number of women and girls in gaining access to higher education marks outstanding improvements in womens status in their individual and social lives, even though there seem to be some negative consequences that can be overcome by careful planning.
Policewomen, Ups and Downs, Oughts and Ought nots
Faribá Ibtiháj
Perhaps one can view the process of establishing an institution entitled policewoman as a clear symbol of a process that has had its ups and downs and finally has led to improvements in womens situation, the symbol which represents the essence and truth of womens national movement with its ups and downs and oughts and oughtnots crystalizing itself into the establishment of the first womens police station in 1382 AH (solar), i.e., twenty-five years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
The present article offers a report on the background and the process of reestablishing the institution policewoman in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the damages which have inflicted upon the Islamic Republic due to the non-existence of such an institution after the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran.
Women and Misdeeds (Addiction, Committing Suicide, Robbery)
Shukwh Nawabi Najab
Social abnormalities and misdeeds which are inconsistant with social values committed by an individual or a group have a harmful and destructive effect on society. But social deviation among women and girls is much more harmful. The proportion of the girls who behave improperly is lower than that of boys, but the rise of the rate of girls unbecoming behavior in recent years is becoming worrisome. This condition can develop in to a very serious problem.
Delving in to this problem, the author explores the causes behind womens deviation and the causes of the rise of the rate of deviation among women.
The question has been discussed in light of the available information and statistics. Referring to womens social devations such as addiction, committing suicide and robbery, the article points out the effects which these deviations have on society.
The Girls of Post-Revolution Generation, Visions and Expectations
Nozhat Badi
To what extent was the Revolution successful in achieving womens expectations and fulfilling their rights? This question was forward for young girls to answer. A survey was conducted for this purpose in order to investigate young girls opinions regarding the negative reaction shown by some of the girls to the policy of government, gvernment officials, the policy of school, the way they are treated by the family and the causes of a number of problems they are involved in. The questions on which the discnssion was centred were the vacillations over whether or not girls can make good progress in their study or in getting a suitable profession, the restrictions of entertaiment opportunities available for girls especially for leasure times, the scale of girls knowledge and the skills they have before marriage, what is necessary and unnecessary in their dealing with the opposite sex and the causes behind the moral deviations which some girls suffer from. Although some of the answers given by the girls to the above-mentioned questions were not approved by the magazine, they were useful for those who have responsibilities because they provide a clear idea about how the girls of post-Revolution generation see things though some of what they said was not soundly based.
Women in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a Review of the Indexes of Development
Soheylá Khoshbin
The feminist movement in Iran is influenced by that of the West. However, this movement can be divided into different branches with their various approaches. While accepting the difference between women and men to be genetic (takwini), the feminist mainstream advocates equal rights and opportunities for both men and women in society and family, the issue which has been studied in the first part of the present article.
In the second part, with the emphasis on different natures or dispositions of men and women, their social rights such as marriage, divorce, absolute singleness, employment, literacy and education as the indexes of persistent development in terms of the laws in the Islamic Republic are assessed.
Women and Protection of the Environment and Natural Resources
Hala Suhrab Zadeh
Protection of the environment, which is considered one of the basic factors for sustainable development in the present time, has worldwide significance and such an enterprise cannot be achieved without peoples perceptive and serious participation. Due to the fact that most women play an important part in running domestic affairs, raning children, disseminating what the they know about the environment and handing it down to the new generations and the fact that the women who live in the villages can play a major role in agricultural activities and have a long experience in founding local traditional groups, they can contribue a lot to protecting the environment and natural resources.
Therefore, it is very important to take a probing look at womens role in protecting the environment and to point out the ways of heightening their role which, in turn, contributes to a sustainable development. The present essay is concerned with the aforementioned subject.
Women and Girls in Rural Communities and Extended Families in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Athareh Nejadi
In the Islamic Republic of Iran, women in rural communities and extended families constitute a large portion of Iranian population whose covert and overt roles in managing and directing the local communities and their secondary effects on developing the country is remarkable.
Making use of certain source books and documents such as newspapers, magazines, periodicals and articles, an attempt has been made in this article to examine improvements on womens status in rural communities and extended families in the last 25 years after the Islamic Revolution, in terms of statistics, in order to develop strategies to attain desirable conditions for women.
The Changes in the Conditions of Rural Women after the Birth of the Islamic Revolution
Farahnaz Rostami
Masooma Raheem Zadeh
Like the conditions of people from all walks of life, womens conditions witnessed some changes after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran which brought out to light womens high and original values. Iranian women, especially rural women shared men-in the post-Revolution period-in various fields and in different activities, and made good advances that placed them in their real social station.
The present article takes a probing look at the changes that occured after the Revolution and the factors that influenced the social, economic and cultural conditions of rural womens life. The article, addressing the role women have played in making decisions regarding regional affairs and family affairs, points out the active role of governmental and non-governmental organizations with regard to rural womens affairs. It also enumerates the different factors that helped women to play an active role in production.
The article concludes with a discussion of the role of rural women and their status in the overal economic, social and cultural system and the good policy adopted by the Islamic Revolution concerning the conditions of rural women.
Women and Girls in Religious Minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Maryam Lavásáni
Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian Iranians are the only recognized minorities, who, within the limits of the law, are free to perform their religious rites and ceremonies and to act according to their own canon in matters of personal affairs.
Coming from religious minorities and having many things in common with the Muslim community, women and girls face some problems within their own religious minorities and share some with the Islamic community, too.
Careful examination of womens status in the Islamic Republic of Iran can not be naturally carried out without taking into consideration the women and girls in other religious minorities.
In spite of the difficulties some authorities in these religious minorities encountered in providing us with a report on the status of Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, Armeniun, Iranian women, we succeeded to have a short glance over the status of women in these religious minorities by making use of available articles written by the experts and authors among these religious minorities.
The Role of Women in the Nations Health and Medical Care
Leylá Ahmadábádipùr
Available evidence suggests that women have greater role in the accomplishment of the nations general health and medical care programs than the male citizens.
This article, in three parts, makes some references to the different roles women play in the development and growth of health and medical care.
The article, first, deals with the role women generally play in the nations health and then with the statistics on the number of women working in the field of medicine and finally discusses women, health and information.
Furthermore, the article offers a list of health care programs concerning certain subjects such as family, womens participation in various medical courses, womens health in the available international documents, womens non-governmental organizations and womens health websites.
Womens Demands From the Context of Home to that of Society
Masùdeh Karami
Womens demands, ranging from home to society, constitute so wide a scope that the present article does not provide enough space to deal with them in detail. However, women themselves are fully cognizant of their demands and problems. To capture all the most important indexes of womens status in Iran, a group of women were asked to answer the questions about womens particalar problems, their most serious challenges cencerning family, the lesser or greater degree of their problems after the Revolution, the extent to which female managers exert their influence in dealing with womens affairs, women as successful models in families and their answers have been carefully examined by the experts.
Womens Role in Education, Statistics and Analyses
Alirezá Ghamkhár
The most important and outstanding role of women can be found in their role in education which extends to all life processes. Their role can be classified into three categories:
1) Womens role in family education 2) Womens role in the nations official education
3) Womens role in the economical, social and cultural development as the indirect tactor in education.
The writer in this article deals with the above-mentioned triple roles women have played ئver the last 25 years in the Islamic Republic of Iran, making an analysis of them in terms of statistical data obtained and mentioning the existing shortcomings in this field.
The High Proportion of Girls Going on to Higher Education: an Opportunity or Menace?
Atwsa Zerafat
Everyones ability, especially girls, to enjoy equal educational opportunities is one of the achievements of the Islamic Republic in the last two decades which had such a remarkable effect on womens literacy and their going on to universities that today girls have precedence over boys in higher education. Considering womens needs and some of their serious problems, like unemployment and marriage, which are becoming among the main concern of the country, the authorities have for long tried to find an answer to the question: What role has the great number university girls or female graduates _ whose number is increasing day by day _ played in developing the country and how can this potential menace be changed into an opportunity? Some hold that this problem can be solved by assigning special shares in higher education for each sex according to the actual need of society but some who consider the idea of assigning shares a sort of sexual discrimination propose some other solutions. The views of both supporters and opponents are refered to in this discussion.
Womens Athletics Career, Remarkable Growth, A Growing Requirement
Farzáneh Ahmadi
Womens athletics career, though it is now beginning to emerge, has become widespread, womens achievements in athletics and their participation in all forms of athletics and athletics competitions in the country and abroad are the case in point.
However, there is a wide gap between the available possibilities and the increasing number of women who want to take part in athletics, though many atlempts have been made by the officials to pave the way for women to involve in all forms of domestic and international athletics competitions. This article reflects some improvements in womens athletics career and womens athletics requirments after the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
Women Prisoners, Statistics and Contrast
Shikooh Nawabi Najad
The feeling of shame and guilt of imprisonment in women is far greater than that in men. Women suffer from physical and mental problems especially if they are kept in a private cell for committing any guilt.
Statistics show that four percent of the prisoners in Iran are women. They do not enjoy the privilidges granted to men prisoners including "legal meeting".
No report, however, indicates that keeping guilty women in prison can urges imprisoned women to reconsider their previous conduct or to repent. Therefore, it is suggested that guilty women pass the period of their imprisonment inside the home under special restrictions.
In its review of the problems faced by women in prison and the actions taken for reducing them, the article provides statistical evidences to support the argument and classifies the guilts into different categories.
Runaway Girls, Women on the Loose, Why? What is the Means of Solution?
Zuhra DihKhoda
Muhammad Kadhim Itminan
The continuous increase of the number of runaway girls who depart their affectionate place of residence and the harmful effects which this situation exerts on individuals, society and family are among the serious social problems which appeared in recent years. It is true that girls boredom and readiness to be away from home are ascribed to some economic, culture and social factors, but the harsh treatment shown by their guardians, the parents and the lack of correct and well - laid plan are among the factors which are worth considering as well. The phenomenon of womens wandering around the streets, which is one of the effects of the increase of the number of runaway girls, is the main topic of this article.
The essay introduces an overview of the factors of this negative phenomenon, the experts, ideas about it with statistical evidences which support the authors argument.
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