Gender-based violence against women is a subject that has been presented to the parliament in the form of a bill since 2020, but for unknown reasons, the parliament has not put it on its agenda. This bill is one of the few measures that have been taken to support women and has been drafted during the Rouhani administration. Recently, the Deputy for Women’s Affairs of the 14th government announced that the parliament has made some amendments to this bill, but the revised details are still unclear. This bill has been waiting for approval in the parliament for about four years.

The first support for women with the bill of protection for women against violence.

The bill for preserving dignity and supporting women against violence reduces the prevalence of discrimination against women in Iran. According to this bill, a committee must be formed to study the frequency and results of violence against women and submit these findings to the Ministry of Justice every six months. One of the most important actions of the National Committee for Preserving Dignity and Supporting Women against Violence is to establish systems where information and statistics on the status of violence against women are readily available. This bill extensively obligates all judicial and executive bodies to investigate and prosecute any form of violence that is not explicitly mentioned in the law, and to differentiate between monetary and non-monetary penalties. The bodies that will be notified of this bill after its approval include the radio and television organization, the judiciary, the welfare organization, the administrative and employment organization of the country, municipalities, law enforcement agencies, prisons, the Bar Association, and all ministries. This bill has assigned tasks to each organization and ministry to protect and ensure the safety of

Education and cultural awareness are a priority in the bill to prevent violence against women.

The most significant part that this bill has allocated to itself is the education and cultural section, which has been entrusted to all organizations and ministries. According to Article 8 of this bill, the responsibility of holding special training courses for judges, officers, and employees of judicial authorities has been assigned to the judicial power. Furthermore, the promotion of general legal knowledge to prevent violence against women is one of the duties that the Ministry of Justice is obligated to carry out in order to achieve the goals of this law. Developing and implementing appropriate curriculum in various educational levels in the cognitive and behavioral domains of students regarding conflict management and support for women against violence in society is a subject that the Ministry of Education is required to carry out in all public and private schools at all educational levels, but so far it has not been taught or addressed in any schools or educational levels. (1).

This draft, if approved and enacted, can bring about significant changes in the field of legislation to uphold women’s rights. Despite the necessity of this matter, the mentioned draft is still under review in the parliament. Although this draft does not mention issues such as the right to divorce, the right to education or custody, as well as the right to leave the country without the permission of the spouse, it is believed that by becoming a law, it can reduce the level of violence against women to some extent.

Recently, the Deputy for Women’s Affairs in the Masoud Pezeshkian government, in an interview with reporters, stated that this bill has undergone changes in parliament and even its name has been changed. Zahra Behrouz Azar, at the end of the government session on April 30, said: “The changes started with the name of the bill, which of course is not our main issue. The important thing is that we can minimize the act of violence, misconduct, and various abnormalities that may exist, especially in the family environment, and affect women and girls and lead to a decrease in family security. The proposed plan, which has been drafted, is actually a serious amendment to the bill, and considering that it is important for the government to protect this bill, it was decided today to return the bill to parliament and take action in another session to see what measures can be taken to reduce violence.” Behrouz Azar, stating that a text has been proposed by

It is not clear whether this bill has been sent to the government again by the parliament, but the weekly orders of the parliament indicate that the twelfth parliament has a greater inclination towards amending the dowry law compared to the bill for preserving dignity and supporting women against violence. One of the constant criticisms of women activists in Iran is the lack of attention to this bill.

Masoumeh Ebtakar, the Deputy for Women and Family Affairs of the Twelfth Government, has also reacted to the changes and numerous delays, saying: “This tragic story is a spectrum of efforts to achieve women’s rights and security based on Quranic and religious principles, and it is facing a spectrum of male-dominated and regressive views. As the famous Romina bill, which was sent to the parliament after her father’s brutal murder and was finally approved by the judiciary, remained silent and not only did not receive attention, but also did not enter the parliament’s agenda and orders.” (3).

Notes:

1- Draft of Protecting Dignity and Supporting Women against Violence.

The Center for Research of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

October 8th, 2024.

2- Behrouz Azar: The bill to support women is rejected due to changes in the parliament.

Irna.

, 10 Ordibehesht 1404..

3- Masoumeh Ebtakar’s strong objection to the delay of the parliament in passing the law against violence against women; the parliament cannot overlook domestic violence.

Online trust.

, 18 Ordibehesht 1404.