inheritance,5 and the right to divorce.6 In marriage, the Civil Code provides rights to the husband
over those of the wife,7 notably by establishing that the position of the ‘head of the family’ is the
exclusive prerogative of the husband. Under Iranian law, the husband is entitled to control
aspects of his wife’s life8 and demand that she performs her ‘duties’.9
With regards to women’s right to work, a husband can prevent his spouse from pursuing an
occupation which he believes to be against family values or harmful to his or her reputation.10
There is no law prohibiting an employer from seeking a husband’s permission for a woman to
work and employers have been reportedly requiring engaged or married women to provide a
written statement of permission from their husbands in order to be hired.11 Although not
challenging the discriminatory legal framework described above, the Government has engaged in
steps addressing the status of women with regards to the right to work in the Islamic Republic of
Iran. The Supreme Administrative Council reportedly decided to require the Government to
allocate 30% of the managerial positions to women. Additionally, the Deputy-President for
women and family affairs has drafted a document on the promotion of the status of women and
the family through identifying the indicators of gender balance, and consultation with the civil
society. The Government also established a National Task Force on the Empowerment of Female
Heads of Households in the field of development of employment and entrepreneurship. The
Government reportedly increased the quota of women in recruitment of government departments
and launched the Women's Business Development and Acceleration Center which aims at
“strengthening rural women's associations and cooperation” as well as “entrepreneurship
development for women”. 12 There is no readily available information as to what extent these
measures effectively translated in practice. In fact, recent statistics suggest otherwise: a recent
World Bank study ranked Iran fourth lowest in its 2019 Women, Business and the Law index,13
and according to the Government’s statistics published in 2018, female economic participation
stood at 15.9 per cent for women, compared to 64.1 per cent for men, one of the lowest rates in
the world.14
5
Articles 861 to 948, Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. https://iranhrdc.org/the-civil-code-of-the-islamic-republic-ofiran/
6
Article 1133, Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. https://iranhrdc.org/the-civil-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/
7
Articles 1102 to 1119, 1133 to 1142, Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. https://iranhrdc.org/the-civil-code-of-theislamic-republic-of-iran/
8
For instance, under Article 1117 of the Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran “The
husband can prevent his wife from occupations or technical work
which is incompatible with the family interests or the dignity of himself or his wife.” https://iranhrdc.org/the-civil-code-of-theislamic-republic-of-iran/
9
Article 1108, Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. https://iranhrdc.org/the-civil-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/
10
Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Art.1117 < https://shenasname.ir/laws/6664 >
11
Human Rights Watch, ‘It’s A Men’s Club’: Discrimination against Women in Iran’s Labour Market, May 2017
12
UPR 2019, National Report, Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1
13
World Bank, Women, Business and the Law 2019: A Decade of Reform, May 2019, p.9
14
Statistical Centre of Iran, Natayej-e-Amar giri-ye- nirou-ye-kaar, Paeiz-e-1396 [Results of the census on workforce, Autumn
of 1396], https://bit.ly/330NG8t
2