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Fatima Akhtari

Every year, the Organization for Management and Planning formulates the one-year financial plan of the government and submits it to the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Guardian Council for approval. In 2018, the total public budget of the government will be around 424 trillion tomans.

Based on the 1395 census data, the population of women in the country is estimated to be 39 million and 427,828. It can be said that women make up almost half of the country’s population.

If we do not consider the budgets of organizations that are mostly specialized for men – such as institutions like the military – it can be said that women have a share in the total approved government budget, equal to their participation in society. For example, in a 10% increase in government employee salaries, women employees are also involved.

Unfortunately, in Iran, due to the discrimination against women, they have less presence in society and as a result, they will generally receive a lower percentage of the budget. For example, housewives are considered unemployed and the share of women’s participation in the economy and national development projects is not equal to that of men.

Every year, in addition to the general budget that is approved, an extra budget is allocated for women and their specific activities. Allocating a budget for groups that have been oppressed or need improvement is one of the solutions of governments. In societies like Iran where women do not have equal legal rights as men, this increase in budget is an effort towards achieving equality that can help reduce the effects of patriarchy and its consequences on society to some extent.

This article attempts to mention cases of allocated budget for women and examine their importance and benefits for the women’s community.

Rouhani’s promises to women.

In addition to campaign promises, Hassan Rouhani also addresses women’s rights in the Citizen’s Rights Charter, for example:

Women have the right to actively and effectively participate in policy-making, legislation, management, implementation, and monitoring, and to have equal social opportunities based on Islamic standards.

The right of all citizens, especially women and children, is to be protected from verbal and physical assault and violence in all family and social environments. In case of any type of violence, they should have easy access to safe places and emergency, medical, and judicial institutions to assert their rights.

It is the right of women to have access to suitable job opportunities and equal rights and benefits in exchange for equal work.

The right of all citizens, especially women, is to have access to sports facilities, education, and healthy leisure activities, and to be able to participate in national and international sports while preserving the Islamic-Iranian culture.

It is the right of women to benefit from healthy nutrition during pregnancy, a safe delivery, postpartum health care, maternity leave, and treatment for common women’s diseases.

The right of all citizens, especially women, is to form their own specific organizations and social, cultural, and artistic institutions while participating and being present in public spaces and centers.

It is the right of women to have access to appropriate healthcare programs and facilities, as well as proper education and counseling, in order to ensure physical and mental well-being in all stages of their personal, family, and social lives, especially during pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, and in situations of illness, poverty, or disability.

While the president talks about creating equal opportunities for women in his election promises, he not only failed to fulfill his promise of creating a Ministry of Women, but has even given unacceptable reasons for not appointing a female minister. More than 60% of accepted students in higher education centers are women, but the rate of women’s economic participation in Iran is only between 13 to 15%. Some of the promises that Rouhani made to women and were expected to be implemented with a budget, include “allowing women to enter stadiums” and “providing insurance for housewives”.

In addition, Hassan Rouhani speaks in his speeches about preserving human dignity and eliminating the interference of the Guidance Patrol and security measures against women’s clothing; however, in government programs, not only is there no attention paid to this issue, but we are also witnessing an increase in the budget of security and oppressive institutions. For example, the budget for the Revolutionary Guards will increase by 42% in 2018.

Women’s specific budget.

1- Deputy of Women and Family Affairs.

According to Article 230 of the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan, the government, in collaboration with relevant organizations and institutions including the Center for Women and Family Affairs, is required to develop and approve a comprehensive “Women and Family Development Plan” consisting of strengthening the foundation of the family, reviewing relevant laws and regulations, preventing social harms, developing and organizing economic and livelihood affairs with a priority on organizing home-based jobs for female heads of household and single mothers, providing social security, leisure time, research, promoting modesty and hijab culture, improving health, developing the capabilities of grassroots organizations, promoting the capabilities of female managers and elites, developing international interactions, deepening religious beliefs, and reforming the administrative structure of women and family organizations. Appropriate actions must be taken in this regard.

The head of this organization is also the deputy of the president in women’s affairs. Currently, Masoumeh Ebtakar is the head of this organization. The budget of this center has always been a controversial issue among government institutions; however, every year we witness an appropriate budget being allocated to this center.

With a quick look at the main programs of this deputyship, we see that alongside issues such as health and research, which are strengths of this program, there are also other issues such as promoting modesty and hijab, deepening religious beliefs, and so on, which are exactly in the opposite direction of gender equality. Additionally, there are many parallel institutions with similar religious goals that receive annual budgets, which raises questions about the allocation of women’s budgets to this matter.

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2.3

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Policy-making Council of the Area.

Sister’s seminaries.

The goals of this council are to oversee and lead the major areas of the sisterly seminaries through policy-making, approving principles, regulations, and general plans, as well as monitoring the proper implementation of decisions and the management process of the sisterly seminaries.

In 1995, the number of female students was estimated to be around 75,000. Due to the small population of these women compared to the total female population, it cannot be expected that this annual increase in budget would have any impact on the women in society. In fact, the budget allocated to this center is only spent on a minimum group of women who, in most cases, hold even more radical positions against women than men do.

ماه

3. Month–

Women’s household head insurance.

Married couples’ home with priority for female heads of household.

It has been about 18 years since the issue of insurance for housewives has been raised in expert meetings. However, the government has not only turned “housewives’ insurance rights” into a statement that includes several criteria such as having three children, but has also shown its inefficiency in implementing the same plan. And year after year, the budget allocated to this plan is also reduced.

According to Parvaneh Salhashoori, the head of the Women’s Faction in Parliament, “Currently, there are 770,000 stay-at-home mothers with three children in the country who are not covered by any type of insurance, and out of this number, 120,000 are the heads of households.”

Tayybeh Siavoshi, the Vice President of the Women’s Faction in Parliament, says: “The large population of housewives and their poor financial situation has led to the government’s neglect of this issue. Despite the fact that the sixth development plan law has been approved for insuring housewives with at least three children, we believe in insuring all housewives and we will follow up on this matter.”

Conditionalizing women’s insurance on having three children, despite having a supportive appearance, will increase pressure on stay-at-home women in the long run for childbearing. This process, which took place in the 1960s, resulted in women’s withdrawal from the job market and cultural activities.

5.

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Women’s Cultural and Social Council

In 1996, we witnessed the allocation of a budget to the “Women’s Cultural and Social Council”. The responsibilities of this center have been very practical and useful, and unlike the policy-making councils of religious institutions, it covers a large portion of the women in society. Examining the employment status of women, increasing their participation in political, social, economic, and cultural activities, planning for women’s leisure time, and continuous evaluation of their cultural and social status are some examples of the activities of this center. However, what we have seen in practice is the approval of plans that not only did not help women, but also restricted their freedom. One of the approved plans of this council was the “Comprehensive Chastity Plan”, under which the police have the right to express and enforce their opinions on people’s clothing. Another plan of this council is the “Social Security Promotion Plan”, also known as “Guidance Patrol” and “Executive Regulations for Optimizing Women’s Presence in Cinema

Currently, this council is under the supervision of Zahra Ayatollahi, who we were recently witness to her controversial opinions about the “Protection of Women against Violence” bill.

By examining the performance of this council, it may also be necessary to thank the government for removing the dedicated budget for this center.

6.

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Women’s universities.

Six universities, including “Al-Zahra”, “Kowsar”, and “Hazrat Narjes”, benefit from the government’s dedicated budget, which has increased compared to last year.

Special financial allocation for women’s education is important, but when this budget is limited to only women’s universities, it shows support for gender segregation and ultimately deprives women of the choice to study certain fields, rather than supporting them. “Establishing appropriate academic fields for women to advance in science, thought, and the position of women and strengthening the family” and “providing opportunities and suitable space for the better development of women’s scientific abilities in an environment independent of men” are some of the goals of these universities. Looking at these titles, it can be understood that the purpose of supporting and expanding the activities of these academic centers is to polarize society and create binary conflicts between women and men, which in turn creates division in society and strengthens the patriarchal community.

7.

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Other organs.

A portion of the budget of the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education is allocated to the area of women and family. This includes budget for education of pregnant and lactating women, improving fertility health and maternal health indicators, promoting childbirth and treating infertility, and so on.

Unfortunately, as we have seen in previous years, not only has no program or budget been considered for “preventing pregnancy”, but a budget has also been allocated for “promoting childbirth”. Allocating this budget is not necessarily a bad thing, but when the government imposes many restrictions on pregnancy prevention services, the result is that women in their prime ages of 20 to 35 become occupied with fertility activities, ultimately leading to their exclusion from political, social, and economic activities.

Some of the other specific budgets for women include “Rural Women’s Education”, “Continuous Pensions”, “Women, Nomads, Disabled and Veterans’ Sports”, and “Marriage Loans”. These are small but useful efforts for improving the economic and social situation of women.

Suggestions.

Each of the allocated budgets was criticized in detail. However, perhaps more important than criticizing the current situation is presenting suggestions that can lead to more targeted allocated budgets.

The ideal society regarding the status of women is one where women and men have reached a level of equality where there is no longer talk of women or men for planning or budget allocation. This means creating equal opportunities for participation in society and contribution based on abilities and capabilities – not gender. However, as long as a patriarchal society casts a shadow over all relationships and occasions, the government and social activists are forced to implement positive discrimination to eliminate this gap.

As mentioned, this article proposes the removal of budgets allocated to women that do not contribute to empowering and promoting the independence of women. Perhaps by removing some of these budgets, we can have a more humane view of women and transform them from being seen as individuals who should only grow and study in a “feminine” space and ultimately become mere incubators, to individuals who can take advantage of equal opportunities and play an equal role in political, economic, and cultural activities.

Some other items that can receive government’s allocated budget include:

• Considerations for Women’s Presence in Sports Stadiums for the Expansion of Sports Activities and Watching Sports Games.

• Housewives insurance.

• Low-interest loans for women’s employment.

• Providing housing deposit for increasing women’s independence.

• Supporting women in the fields of art and culture and planning for leisure time.

• Sports and treatment for elderly women.

• Elimination of violence against women.

• Support for cooperatives and women’s associations.

• The physical and mental health of women in needy families and women at risk.

It is necessary to have hope that in the women’s faction under the title of “Empowering Women”, some of these titles will be addressed. Although it is not possible to achieve anything with hope alone.

Sources.

1- Draft budget for the year 1397 for the entire country, by the Organization of Planning and Budget of the country, Center for Documents, Records and Publications, 1396.

2- Tahmasebi, Victoria and Behrouz, Meysam, “The Clerical Record in the Field of Women: Promises and Challenges,” BBC Persian website, 20 Ordibehesht 1396.