Women’s rights in Iran

As Iranians celebrated Women’s Day last Thursday, the rights of women in certain Islamic states, especially Arab states, were being systematically violated.

The important roles of women as mothers and wives are emphasized on Women’s Day, which is one of the most important aspects of the day when women are commemorated in Iran.

On this day, leading officials also laud the role of women in the political, economic, and social spheres.

The status of women changed significantly after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and women have been allowed to attain their rightful place in society.

As in Western countries, before the Islamic Revolution, women were regarded as commodities and their social activities were not respected.

However, the revolution took a compassionate, Islamic attitude toward women, and today the material and spiritual wellbeing of Iranian women is excellent, something which may not be seen in Western societies. 

Iranian women have a powerful and inspired character and play an active and determining role on the national level alongside men.

Iranian women have shown their influence and power by attaining positions in the country’s highest decision-making bodies.

In Iran, women, as the cornerstones of society, enjoy the special respect they are entitled to in Islam.

Thus, the Islamic Republic’s Constitution eloquently defined the status of women in society, and there are no impediments for women’s social activities.

Unlike certain Arab and Muslim countries, where a woman is viewed as just a housewife and a bearer of children, the status of women in Iran is in some regards higher than men.

Unfortunately, in certain Arab states, the rights of women are not respected, such that women are not even allowed to drive cars or vote in one country.

In these nations, women are easily divorced, there are arranged marriages, and there is even widespread violence against women in some countries.

But in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a woman is one of the country’s vice presidents, women are members of parliament, lawyers, and university professors, and there are no hindrances preventing women from assuming high-ranking political posts.

The Iranian Constitution grants women equal rights with men, and this can be a model for all Muslim countries.

However, Western media outlets try to present a distorted view of realities in Iran to the world, especially on the issue of women’s rights.

The Islamic system truly opened the doors to education for women, and this is regarded as one of the greatest achievements of the Islamic Revolution.  

There are now more women attending college than men in Iran. In most Iranian universities, over 65 percent of the students are women.

There are also a large number of women specialist physicians in Iran.

Women’s literacy has risen dramatically in Iran since the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Before the revolution, many of the country’s small villages only had boys’ schools but no girls’ schools.    

In 1979, only 37 percent of Iranian women and girls could read and write but now over 75 percent of Iranian females are literate, which is one of the highest female literacy rates in the Islamic world.  

All this shows the success of the Islamic Republic of Iran in providing a good atmosphere for women.

Therefore, the Islamic Republic is one of the few countries that have succeeded in allowing women to assume their true identity, and this is the greatest honor that Iranian society has granted to women.

MS/HG

END

MNA