Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran A/HRC/43/61 para 68(k) Full recommendation: End the policy of prohibiting or severely limiting women’s attendance at public sporting events, and bring both laws and policies protecting women’s rights into compliance with international standards. Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1 Article 3 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran stipulates that it is the duty of the State to work towards “the abolition of all forms of undesirable discrimination and the provision of equitable opportunities for all, in both the material and the intellectual spheres.”2 Article 20 of the Constitution guarantees that all citizens of Iran, men and women, enjoy the equal protection of the law and of rights, “in conformity with the Islamic criteria.” Article 21 of the Constitution emphasises that “the government must ensure the rights of women in all respects, in conformity with Islamic criteria”. According to Article 4 of the Constitution, the Guardian Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran is entrusted with the definition and determination of the framework of what constitutes the “Islamic criteria” or standards. Among the 12 non-elected members of the Guardian Council, only the six male clerics, directly appointed by the Supreme Leader, are responsible for such task. While the aforementioned provisions supposedly safeguard the human rights of women and protect them from discrimination, such legal guarantees exist as long as they are in conformity with the “Islamic criteria.” The room for interpretation of what is to be considered “in conformity with Islamic criteria” has often resulted in provisions that discriminate or have a discriminatory impact on various grounds, including gender. The Iranian Islamic Penal Code (2013) is largely based on the government’s interpretation of Islamic Sharia precepts and contains provisions which directly discriminate between girls and boys. One of the most telling examples is the age of criminal responsibility, which is set at nine lunar years for girls (the Gregorian equivalent of eight years, nine months) and fifteen lunar years for boys (the Gregorian equivalent of fourteen years, seven months).3 Additionally, a large number of provisions under the Iranian Civil Code are discriminatory towards women. These provisions notably include the legal age of marriage,4 the share of 1 CCPR.2.1.S.1; CCPR.2.2.S.1; CCPR.3.1.S.1; CCPR.3.1.S.4; CCPR.23.4.S.1; CCPR.2.1.P.2; CCPR.2.3.P.1; CCPR.3.1.P.3; CCPR.23.2.P.1; CCPR.2.3.O.4; CCPR.3.1.O.4 2 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/constitution-english-1368.pdf 3 Criminal responsibility, Articles 140, 146 and 147 of the Islamic Penal Code, 2013 https://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-ofbooks-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/ 4 Article 1041, Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. https://iranhrdc.org/the-civil-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/ 1

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