For example, 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
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
Structural discriminations deeply entrenched in the Iranian legal system ultimately translate in
practice to widespread discriminations against women, in all aspects of their lives, including to
access the work market or public life. 10 11 These discriminations are reflected in practice:
according to the UN Women and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Iran ranks for women’s
participation in politics in 181 out of the 190 reviewed countries.12 Additionally, while the
Government reported that women’s economic participation rate “has risen from 12.4% in 2013 to
16.4% in 2018”,13 it remains some of the lowest in the world.
Article 3 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran stipulates that the government “has
the duty of directing all its resources” to, among other goals, “the abolition of all forms of
undesirable discrimination and the provision of equitable opportunities for all, in both the
material and intellectual spheres”.14 Article 19 of the Constitution stipulates that all people of
Iran enjoy equal rights “whatever the ethnic group of tribe” and that “color, race, language and
the like, do not bestow any privilege”.15 Sexual orientation and gender identity are omitted as
protected characteristics. Additionally, Article 20 states that all citizens enjoy all “human,
political, economic, social and cultural rights, in conformity with Islamic criteria”. As same sex
relations are criminalized under the Iranian Islamic Penal Code,16 the “Islamic criteria” condition
4
Article 1041, Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. https://iranhrdc.org/the-civil-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/
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-the-islamic-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
See more: All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan – Geneva (KMMK-G) Association for
the Human Rights Of The Azerbaijani People In Iran (AHRAZ), Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC), OutRight
International, Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Small Media, Impact Iran, Submission to the Human Rights Committee, 129th
session, 2020, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_42317_E.pdf
11
See more: Minority Rights, https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/MRG_CFR_Iran_EN_Sept191.pdf
12
UN Women, https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2021/women-inpolitics-2021-en.pdf?la=en&vs=1305
13
UPR 2019, National Report, Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1
14
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, English translation, https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b56710.html
15
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, English translation, https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b56710.html
16
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/denied-identity-human-rights-abuses-against-irans-lgbtcommunity/#2
5
2