Irans Experience in Womens Empowerment

1
Irans Experience in Womens Empowerment

• Zahra Shojaie
• Prepared for the Third World Conference
• International Society and the Millennium
  Development Goals
• 9-12 October 2006,
• Brasilia

2
Islamic Revolution and Women

• Women played a major role during the process of
  the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
• The Islamic Revolution paved the way for womens
  growth increasingly, in particular in the field
  of womens education, at various levels.
• Literacy programmes organized and strengthened
  all over the country, and each year,
  discrimination in access to schools decreased,
  and 22 years after the Revolution, the number of
  female students exceeded the male students.

3
Women and Economic Independence

• The religion of Islam, entitles woman with the
  right of ownership.
• The Koran says Men shall have the benefit of
  what they earn and women shall have the benefit
  of what they earn.

4
Participation of women in all walks of life

• Women can participate in all economic and
  commercial activities and all enterprises, and
  the profits yielded from these activities will
  solely belong to them.
• Islam considers women as beings equal to men in
  devising the programmes of life, in working, in
  enjoying free will and in acquiring their own
  needs and all requisites for their survival.
• Women work independently and are responsible for
  the consequences of their own action
• Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam in
  Article 6, it mentions Women are equal to men
  in human dignity, and they have equal rights and
  duties. They have their civil identity and
  independent financial accountability they also
  have the right to retain their names and lineage.

5
Female Labor Force Participation

• In other Muslim-majority lands, for example,
  Southeast Asia, female labor force participation
  is high.
• In the oil-boom years prior to the mid-1980s, the
  oil-centered economies of the Middle East did not
  require female labor in order to grow.

6
Women and 8 years of Khatamis Presidency

• A major policy of the eight years of presidency
  of Seyed Mohammad Khatami Womens empowerment
  for an encompassing participation in society
• Reforms started in all areas in 1997, with
  particular emphasis placed on strengthening
  womens participation
• In its initial stages, the most significant
  presidential plans regarding women were
• (1) promoting the position of Iranian women,
• (2) attempting to eradicate illiteracy among
  women,
• (3) protecting and strengthening the family
  institution,
• (4) providing increased access to opportunities
  for women,
• (5) economic, administrative and legal support
  for women,
• (6) expanding protection for women,
• (7) reviewing and reforming laws based on social
  conditions,
• (8) putting to advantageous use the abilities of
  elite and expert women,
• (9) provision of social security and job creation
  for female-headed households and socially
  vulnerable women, and
• (10) increasing womens participation through
  political, social and cultural non-governmental
  organizations.

7
Gender Mainstreaming

• Gender mainstreaming at policy and at
  organizational level.
• 3rd National Development Plan (2000-2004), a
  fundamental development in adopting a gender
  perspective.
• Article 158 with five chapters about development
  of womens participation in various fields.
• A gender approach was integrated in all micro-
  and macro-planning in the country.
• 4th Development Plan (2005-2009) gender issues
  are mainstreamed in all programmes components.
• The Fourth National Development Plan was a
  considerable move forward in comparison with the
  3rd Plan, to the extent that 43 Articles,
  paragraphs and sections were presented in seven
  Chapters on gender issues.

8
Gender mainstreaming and National Budgeting

• Gender mainstreaming was also considered in the
  national budget of the country.
• Programme of strengthening the social and
  cultural participation of women with a budget
  line wsince 2002.
• Ehe womens budget increased 700 percent more
  than before.

9
Gender Mainstreaming at the Organizational Level

• Establishment of 17 organizational positions for
  membership of women in planning and development
  council of each province and expert working
  groups.
• Establishment of womens department at the
  Ministry of Interior and allocation of 14
  organizational positions to that department and
  creation of 48 offices dealing with womens
  issues in Ministries and governmental bodies
• Womens non-governmental organizations increased
  due to a series of capacity-building programmes
  supported by Khatamis government (more than 500
  womens NGOs are active in Iran).

10
Initiatives for empowerment of the female headed
households

• Female-headed households comprise 8.4 of all
  heads or households
• One positive trend in our country is the share of
  the poorest quintile (of whom women or
  female-headed households form a majority) rose
  from 6.83 in 1995 to 7.4 in 2002.
• Increase in the number of womens co-operatives
  by 253 between 1997 and 2003,
• Provision of housing for female-headed households
  
• Establishment of micro-credit institutions in
  five provinces with a special emphasis on lending
  to female-headed households.

11
MDG Goal 3 in IranFemale students in primary,
secondary and tertiary education

• First, the ratio of female students in primary,
  secondary and tertiary education rose remarkably
  to 93.1 percent in 2002 from79.2 in 1990, thanks
  to the Governments policies set for improving
  gender equality in education.

12
MDG Goal 3 in IranRatio of women to men in
tertiary education

• Ratio of women to men in tertiary education has
  increased from 37.4 in 1990. to 110.5 in 2002.

13
MDG Goal 3 in IranRatio of literate women to men
in 15-24 age group

• The ratio of literate women to men in the 15-24
  age group has increased by 9.1 percent, rising
  from 87.9 in 1990 to 97 in 2002.

14
MDG Goal 3 in IranWomen in waged employment in
non-agricultural sector

• The share of women in waged employment in the
  non-agricultural sector rose from 10.5 percent in
  1990 to 12 in 2002. This rate continued to go up
  from 1990 to 1998 to reach 15.3 percent, although
  it then shrank back to stand at 12 percent in
  2002.

The main reason for this decline stems from an
increase in job demands by women, as a result of
the greater number of educated women. As a
consequence, it poses a challenge for the
development planners to create jobs for the
educated women.
15
MDG Goal 3 in IranSeats held by women in
Parliament

• The percentage of seats held by women during four
  terms of the national Parliament increased from 2
  percent in the Third Parliament (1988-1991) to 5
  in the Sixth Parliament (2000-2003). However, it
  declined to 4.1 percent in the first year of the
  Seventh Parliament (2004).

2004
1988-1991
2000-2003
16
Millennium Development Goals

• Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a powerful
  agenda for a global partnership to fight poverty
• gender issues are not limited to a single goal
  it applies to all of them.
• Without progress towards enabling policies and
  the empowerment of women, none of the MDGs will
  be achieved.

17
World Realities

• A mother dies every minute in childbirth
• millions of women and children have no access to
  healthcare or life saving medicines.
• number of people living in extreme poverty is on
  the increase worldwide.
• 70 million girls are still out of school
• And more important lack of political will and
  resources committed to addressing gender equality

18
Hopes for Future

• In the end, I hope that the final results coming
  from the present meeting will contribute greatly
  and positively to realization of the goals and
  objectives of the UN Millennium Declaration and
  the Millennium Development Goals.