was ranked 140 out of 144 countries assessed.30 Similarly, a World Bank study has ranked Iran
fourth lowest in its 2019 Women, Business and the Law index.31 Unsurprisingly, unemployment
is more prevalent among women compared to men in Iran. 32
There are no reports that indicate the existence of effective State-sponsored campaigns aimed at
helping employers and workers to identify discrimination and promote gender equality in Iranian
workplaces. Iran has not amended its laws that violate women’s right to work, as well as their
right to be free from discrimination in the workplace and in the hiring process.
C. It is recommended that the Government ensures that women enjoy full freedom and
rights to become equal partners in decision-making in society at large
Women have a limited presence within decision-making bodies in Iran. Women are completely
prohibited from holding the position of Supreme Leader. Candidates for the presidency in Iran
must be what the constitution refers to as Rajol-E- Siasi (“political men”).33 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 female candidate to stand in presidential elections
or elections to the Assembly of Experts.34
Additionally, no woman has ever served on the Guardian Council (the body mandated to bring
parliamentary resolutions in line with Shari’a and the Constitution and to oversee elections and
vet candidates),35 nor on the Expediency Council (the body which serves as the Supreme Leader's
advisory arm, formulating "general policies for the state" and overseeing the implementation of
those policies on the behalf of the Supreme Leader).36 There are no legal limits laws on the ability
of women to vote or become a candidate for parliament or the City and Village Councils. However,
the Guardian Council is known to arbitrarily disqualify women candidates from running for
election. For example, in the run-up to the 2020 elections, the Guardian Council reportedly
disqualified 60 percent of female candidates. Election law has designated the Guardian Council as
the arbitrator of complaints related to the election process or candidate vetting, which itself is the
body responsible for the impugned decisions.
30
World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2017, https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-gender-gap-report2017
31
World Bank, Women, Business and the Law 2019: A Decade of Reform, May 2019,
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/31327/WBL2019.pdf
32
Statistics Center of Iran <https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/1/releases/lfs/LFS_1397.pdf>
33
Article 115, Constitution of Iran.
34
The council that should choose the Supreme Leader and its mandate is to monitor him.
35
In addition, the Guardian Council is responsible for overseeing elections and vetting candidates.
36
The body, whose members are all appointed by the Supreme Leader, was initially established as an arbitration body between
parliament and the Guardian Council.
4