stood at 15.9 per cent for women, compared to 64.1 per cent for men, one of the lowest rates in
the world.4
While the Government engaged in limited steps to improve women’s participation in the labour
force, such efforts have been insufficient to address women’s unemployment. Further, such
efforts have not challenged the discriminatory legal framework of the State which limits
women’s access to work.
B. The Committee recommends that the State party amend the Civil Code and the
Family Protection Law with the aim to remove the power of a spouse to prohibit the
other spouse from entering employment.
Under Iranian law, 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.5 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.6
As of February 2021, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not engaged in steps to amend the Civil
Code and the Family Protection Law with the aim to remove the power of a spouse to prohibit
the other spouse from entering employment.
C. The Committee also recommends that the State party take steps to increase the
number of women in decision-making and judicial bodies at all levels and in all
areas.
Article 20 of the Constitution states that “All citizens of the country, both men and women,
equally enjoy the protection of the law and enjoy all human, political, economic, social, and
cultural rights, in conformity with Islamic criteria”. The opportunity for interpretation allowed
under the qualifications such as “in conformity with Islamic criteria” has often resulted in
provisions that discriminate or have a discriminatory impact on various grounds, including
gender.
Women in Iran have a limited presence in decision-making bodies. Women are completely
prohibited from holding the position of Supreme Leader. Candidates for the presidency in Iran
4
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
5
Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Art.1117 < https://shenasname.ir/laws/6664 >
6
Human Rights Watch, ‘It’s A Men’s Club’: Discrimination against Women in Iran’s Labour Market, May 2017
https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/iran0517_web_11.pdf
2