Women of Iran

Women's rights in Iran have always been an extremely sensitive issue. Even though women's rights have changed over the years, they have never been equivalent to the rights of men in Iran. This poses a threat on Iran, because women possess very few options when it comes to professions, marriage and other aspects of society. Most believe that equal treatment for men and women is a fundamental principal of international human rights standards. Yet, in Iran, discriminatory practices against women are not only prevalent and condoned, but also required by the government.

There have been strides to change this culture. In 1937 women were accepted into Iranian universities, in 1963 they were given the right to vote for their leaders, some women were even elected to be leaders in their communities. In 1979 these rights came to an abrupt halt when the Islamic Republic was established. Even though the government put tighter restrictions on women they still continued in their education. This shows that the women of Iran are persevering to gain the rights that they deserve.

No matter how hard women try to break free of their boundaries and restrictions the law can put them in their place. A women's testimony in court is half of that of a man, and a women's right to inheritance is also half of men's. These are not the only way the law keeps women down. The women of Iran's effort to fight back are ambled because of their religion. Also strict laws by the government make it hard to proceed in gaining any rights.

One day the women of Iran may reach this goal because of their attitude. They have a significantly better chance to do so then any other country in the middle east they have different attitudes they understand that their rights are being suppressed and that they, as human beings, deserve better. Progressions have been make the percentage of all Iranian women who are active in the economy has doubled from 1986 to 2000.