“if the wife refuses to fulfil the duties of a wife without a legitimate excuse, she will not be
entitled to the cost of maintenance.” And Article 1114 outlines that, “the wife must stay in the
dwelling that the husband allots for her unless such a right is reserved to the wife.” Due to the
existence of these articles in Iranian law, and the lack of any sort of progress in changing such
legislation, women remain legally obligated to be obedient to their husbands.
Women still need written permission from their husband, except in the case of an emergency, to
obtain a passport in accordance with Article 18 (3) of the 1973 Passport Law.7 While the
permission to travel abroad can be included in the marriage contract, a husband’s written consent
must be presented along with a passport application. In addition, the man may prevent a woman
under his care (either a wife or a daughter) from leaving the country at his discretion, even if she
has a valid passport. This legal provision allows men to prevent their wives from traveling for
any reason and at any point in time.
B. Right to work
Article 28 of the Constitution obliges the government to create employment for all without
discrimination.8 Despite the existence of this article, gender and religious restrictions apply in
jobs in the judicial and governmental fields. For example, women cannot stand as judges of the
courts.9 The nondiscrimination principles in the labor code do not cover the hiring process,
which is critical for women to enter the workforce, particularly in higher paying, technical, or
more senior positions. 10
Women are completely prohibited from holding the position of Supreme Leader and have a
limited presence at senior decision-making levels and judicial bodies in the country. Candidates
for the presidency in Iran must be what the constitution refers to as “Rajol-E-Siasi” (“political
men”).11 Though many argue that the phrase as a whole could be understood as “political
persons,” without a specification as to gender, the Guardian Council of the Constitution, a body
of Islamic jurists responsible for vetting candidates for elections, has never approved a woman to
stand in presidential elections or elections to the Assembly of Experts.12 Additionally, no woman
has ever served on the Guardian Council (body mandated to bring parliamentary resolutions in
line with Shari’a and the Constitution and to oversee elections and vet candidates).13 Nor on the
Expediency Council (the body which serves as the Supreme Leader's advisory arm, formulating
7
See https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/5943a4e54.pdf
https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/ir/ir001en.pdf
9
Regulations for the appointment of judges of the country: http://rooznamehrasmi.ir/Laws/ShowLaw.aspx?Code=927
10
Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/05/25/its-mens-club/discrimination-against-women-irans-job-market
11
Art. 115, Constitution of Iran.
12
The council that should choose the Supreme Leader and its mandate is to monitor him.
13
In addition, the Guardian Council is responsible for overseeing elections and vetting candidates.
8
2