Jobs and a seat at the table

Issues affecting women were conspicuously absent from Iran's 2017 presidential election. That's unless one finds useful the leading conservative candidate Hojjat Al Islam Ebrahim Raisi's comment that his government would enhance women's dignity within the family, because women should be "good mothers and wives".

The absence was a departure from the June 2009 presidential campaign, when two reformist candidates backed women's rights.

Now that President Hassan Rouhani has been reelected by a wide margin for another four-year term, it is crucial to ponder what his victory means for Iranian women. Rouhani has widespread support among Iran's urban population, the middle class, young people and women.

Iranian activists did try to raise the issue during the electoral season. On May 6, several weeks before the election, some 180 women, including journalists, intellectuals and veteran activists, such as Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani, Minoo Mortazi, Fatemeh Sadeghi, Fatemeh Govarayee, issued a statement outlining their demands for the next president of Iran.

These included greater inclusion of women in the country's economic activity, repeal of discriminatory laws, increased female sports and a quota reserving at least 30 per cent of ministerial positions for women.

The statement was hardly noticed, in part because the months prior to the election saw a crackdown on activism, with increasing detentions, arrests, trials and long prison terms.

All six candidates made promises about creating jobs and reducing poverty during their campaigns, but the social, economic and political status of women was barely discussed.

According to a May 11 analysis by the International Civil Society Action Network of the first televised electoral debate, there was just one question about women, with a two-minute response time allotted. And that question centred on the role of women in the family.

In another debate, Sardar Ghalibaf, Tehran's mayor and former candidate, who is Raisi's ally, discussed single mothers and the challenges of raising children with disabilities. But he focused on supporting the children without highlighting that their mothers require financial help to do so.

Reacting in an interview with the daily newspaper Shahrvand, Parvaneh Salahshouri, a female parliamentarian from Tehran, asked, "How is it that social issues are addressed but the demands of half of society are not taken into consideration?"

Salahshouri criticised the state broadcasting agency, but her remarks also pointed at the candidates, suggesting that by limiting their discussion of gender issues to the family, the men displayed a contempt for the real problems faced by women.

Discrimination against women remains prevalent in Iran. Iranian women do not have custody of their children, compulsory veiling is still enforced and domestic violence is insufficiently condemned by law. With inheritances, a man is entitled to twice as much a woman.

Iranian women are highly educated. In 2013, they represented over 60 per cent of the country's university applicants. But they lack access to jobs.

Though official unemployment figures hover around 12 per cent, the number could as high as 20 per cent for women.

Female workers are also paid less than male peers, especially in factories, and many women must work two jobs to make ends meet.

Activities that seem mundane in many other parts of the world, such as partaking in sports, are still a challenge in Iran. Women are not allowed into stadiums with men, even though Iranian female athletes have achieved significant success in international sports competitions.

There are some bright spots. Iranian businesswomen have thrived in recent years, excelling in diverse sectors, from knowledge-based corporate services and recycling to animal husbandry.

On the political front, too, women are emerging victorious. In the May 2016 parliamentary election, 17 women were elected to join the 290-member body), an historic record for the Islamic Republic.

Source: Khaleej Times