A number of women's rights activists from Iran addressed the 20th session of the Human Rights council on the situation of violence against women in Iran. A summary of report was published in the website of Human Rights Council.
A Report on the Status of Violence Against Women in
Iran
By
A number of women activists from Iran
In recent years and despite broader
publicity on the issue of violence against women and numerous research and
seminars, some of which initiated by the government agencies to identify and
combat the issue, rather than finding solutions through positive approach to
reduce violence against women, legislation and policy-making has accelerated this
phenomenon.
In the law, domestic violence has
not been defined and there is no legislation to protect the victims, nor
preventative methods are legislated. On the other hand, there are laws which give rise directly or indirectly to violence
against women. Some of the Islamic criminal codes that perpetuate
violence against women are penalties related to extramarital relationships
(Zena), which can encompass flogging and stoning to death. Furthermore,
laws related to homosexuality, crimes against public morals and ethics, honor
killings and abortion, the age of criminal responsibility, and that a woman’s
testimony only carries half the weight of a man’s, all contribute to the increase
in violence against women. Civil law in Iran supports men’s supremacy in
the family, allows polygamy for men, gives men the unilateral right to divorce,
unequal inheritance, child marriage, child guardianship and custody to men and
allows them to punish their children. Such provisions inherently violate
women’s rights, but also provide further opportunities for violence against
them. New legislations, including
family protection law, prohibit women
from any social growth and empowerment, and increase the gender gap in socio
economic status that eventually would lead to the diverse types of gender based
violence, including domestic violence against women.
Moreover, laws and
initiatives such as mandatory dress code and adoption of policies and anti
women’s rights programs, implicitly limit women’s presence in
public places because they would be attacked by the law enforcement agents. Additionally, these laws provide a
massive justification to intensify harassment, individual and collective rapes,
and chain murders of women. Public places through various schemes,
including "Chastity and Hijab" are becoming more insecure. The
police forces who are supposed to be agents of peace and security, violate
women’s rights and intimidate them on a daily basis. Every day, more and
more public places are designated for the exclusive use by men. This had
sparked hatred towards women in the social arena. Although difficult
living conditions and insecurity due to unemployment and inflation rates, has generally
increased violence in the society but violence targets women more than men.
For example, the murder of women in public places had increased and Individual
and collective rapes and acid attacks on women are on the rise. Discrimination
in employment and higher education, particularly gender quota are paving the
way for further violence against women in the society and in family.
These limitations coupled
with the lack of supportive legislation, judiciary system and civil behavior
for female victims are also contributory factors in the increase of suicide
rate and self immolation, running
away girls, and murdering partners. News reports show that these are wide
spread every day occurrences.
Anti-women’s rights government
policies, such as policies against women activists, human rights activists and
organizations supporting victims of violence against women, has limited any
chance in the reduction of violence against women by the civil society.
For example Nasrin Sotoudeh,
prominent women’s lawyer and Narges Mohammadi, women’s rights activist, had
both been sentenced to long term prisons and deprived from any social activity
after serving the prison terms.
The following two
examples, examples of end dead disasters of domestic violence (homicide of
husband or wife) are the result of discriminatory laws and the lack of judicial
and social support of women:
Omolbanin a 22
year old woman in the southwest of Tehran, was imprisoned for 12 days in a
basement and tortured by her husband which eventually led to her death.
On her body the old signs of burns and torture were identified from various
periods. She was being pressured to confess under torture to outside
marriage relationships. She had made the following statement before her
death, “Sometimes my husband kept me for few days in the underground prison and
used to burn me with cigarettes or hot skewer. My mother- in-law and her
other son were aware of these tortures and did not let my voice be heard by
anyone. My husband had written on my behalf that I have secret out of
marriage relationship with several local residents and wanted to get a forced
confession from me. We have just recently come to this neighborhood and I
did not know anyone there (Karimi-Majd, 1376: 9)”. Omolbanin’s story is not an
exceptional case of domestic violence in Iran. Many wife killings are the
result of harsh violence and suspicion by male partners.
Here is another example
of a difficult divorce case, which resulted in the spouse killing. Farzaneh M.
has been charged with complicity in the murder of her husband and is in prison.
Farzaneh was forced into marriage at the age of 19 and moved far away
from her parents. After having two sons, she was subjected her husband
violence. Her husband was a very suspicious man while according to his
sons he had extra marital affairs. Also, her husband was a drug addict
which led to more violence against Farzaneh. When she went to court to
file legal proceedings against her husband with a detailed forensic medical
examination report in hand, she was told that she has to provide 3 such reports
belonging to 3 different periods of time which should in addition include the
duration and kinds of treatment she has received afterward by a physician.
When she went to court
to get divorce based on his addiction she was told to offer the documentations
of her husband’s hospitalization with the aim of withdrawal of drugs three times
and in case he still uses addictive drugs, she can file for divorce.
Thus, actually
divorce became so difficult and the only way out for her was to kill her
husband to save herself.
We demand the implementation
of new policies and strategies fully compatible with the declaration on the elimination
of violence against women and believe that the following recommendations as the urgent and immediate measures should be taken to limit violence against women
in Iran:
- Criminalization of all forms of violence against women, being physical, psychological, sexual or economical in all aspects,
- Setting up an appropriate judicial body that consider the special cases of domestic violence,
- Developing a due process system based on the urgency to prevent the continued consequences of violence during the process,
- Developing a due process to help victims in a secure manner that strengthens women’s confidence and help them to find legal counsel,
- Codification of rules that help the victim of violence, such as providing welfare needs, psychological counseling and shelters, and
- Rules and regulations that people and institutions can follow to combat violence against women as well as legal consequences for the perpetrators
ubstitution of appropriate restorative punishments for
perpetrators of violence against women rather than the current situation of
involving repressive punishments such as the death penalty for rape,
Women’s rights
activists in Iran expect the international community to urge the
Iranian authorities to implement the recommendations provided
in this statement, in order to help us to address violence
against women in Iran. At the same time, we would like to recall our
opposition to any international sanction and military alternative, because, directly
and indirectly, they would result in further violation against women.
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