Iranian passports are about to be renewed with the approval of a new bill in the spring garden of Nonavar, which for the first time in 80 years, the country had a passport law and during this time, this law was only amended once. The first passport law was passed in 1311. Forty years later, in 1351 and six years before the victory of the revolution, this law was reviewed again and until now, with changes and revisions based on the change in the country’s political system, the issuance of passports and handling of foreign travelers’ affairs for Iranian citizens was still being done according to this law passed forty years ago. Although this law allowed women under 18 to have a passport with the permission of their guardian and after marriage with the permission of their husband, nowadays it has taken on a different color and scent…

According to the Civil Law of the Islamic Republic of Iran, married women of any age need permission from their husbands to leave the country. On the other hand, the parliament is pursuing a plan that would require single women over the age of 40 to obtain permission from a “guardian” or “religious ruler” in order to leave the country. According to Article 15 of the Family Protection Law, guardianship is only considered for “minor children”. This plan has been approved by the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the parliament and is expected to be voted on or rejected by representatives after being sent to the parliament’s open session. This plan conflicts with some details of the Civil Law of the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially regarding guardianship. This is while until now, unmarried girls over the age of 18 could leave the country at their own discretion and these restrictions did not apply to them.

Based on this, we decided to gather the opinions of supporters and opponents of this bill.

Argument in favor of the plan:

Laleh Eftakhari (member of the Women’s Faction in Parliament in an interview with ISNA): “The proposal of the Women’s Faction was to add a clause of being righteous in the passport bill, which prohibits women under 40 from leaving the country without permission from their male guardian. This way, if women under 40 are deemed righteous by competent authorities, they will not be banned from leaving the country… In our opinion, permission to leave the country should not be given to anyone without considering the consequences, nor should everyone be banned from leaving the country. We believe that if someone is deemed righteous, they should be allowed to leave the country.”

Zahra Sajjadi (Deputy for Family Affairs at the Women and Family Center of the Presidency Institution in an interview with ISNA): “Just as a woman, even at the age of 40-50, must obtain a passport with her husband’s permission, a daughter must also do so with her father’s consent. Currently, 18-year-old girls can obtain a passport without their father’s permission, while in Islam, the father has guardianship over his daughter and in many cases, such as marriage, the daughter can do so with the consent of her guardian. However, a law is being passed that allows this same daughter to leave the country without her guardian’s consent, which is not permissible according to Sharia law… If a girl reaches the age of 40, because her mental maturity is complete, she can make the decision to leave the country for purposes such as educational opportunities and obtaining specialized education, but girls under the age of 40 are also not allowed, according

Hosseini Naghavi (spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Parliament): “The justification for government representatives in the commission to set a maximum age limit of 40 for issuing passports for single women was to address the current issue of a high number of single women traveling abroad, especially for pilgrimage trips, which can potentially jeopardize their health and overall well-being. Setting an age limit of 40 for passport issuance is a necessary measure to protect the health and safety of women. This bill does not mean a complete ban on single women leaving the country, as they can easily obtain permission from their legal guardian and request a passport. Even if the guardian does not grant permission, they can still take legal action through the appropriate channels to obtain a passport.”

Parvin Hedayati (Deputy for Social Capital at the Center for Women and Family Affairs of the Presidency Institution in an interview with ISNA): “In the regulatory bill proposed by the government, there was no mention of increasing the age requirement for single girls to obtain a passport and obtaining permission from a guardian or religious authority. The government has not imposed any restrictions on issuing passports for unmarried women over the age of 18 or individuals recognized as mature by a court order. Currently, the parliament’s commission on its duties and legal rights is reviewing the bill and all stakeholders can submit their opinions to the relevant commission at this stage.”

Shahla Mirgolubiat (Vice President of the Women’s Faction in an interview with ILNA): “According to the proposal of the Women’s Faction in Parliament, this law should not only be applied based on the age of girls, but also to girls who are planning to travel abroad for unknown reasons. They should also be subject to this law.

We are only trying to add a clause that is necessary in this law. It is almost clear what the purpose of our women and girls is when they travel abroad. Some girls have been accepted for education, some go to scientific conferences, some are businesswomen and travel for business deals, and some girls go to visit their families. In these cases, there are invitations and clear documents. But some trips do not fall into any of these categories and this group makes up a small percentage of women… In recent years, restrictions on girls leaving the country have been lifted, but some people have taken advantage of this situation, causing problems

Argument against the proposal:

Farideh Ghirat (lawyer and women’s rights activist): “When we give a passport to an 18-year-old girl or boy, we determine that they have legal capacity. Now we delegate this decision to the permission of the father or guardian, which is present in our laws. Important issues arise in this type of decision. A girl who has reached the age of 18 and is unmarried, or an older woman who is still single, needs to obtain permission from her father. We have taken away her legal capacity, so the question arises, why should we take it away? She is not insane or insane, she is of sound mind and has reached the legal age to conduct transactions, buy and sell property, rent, and engage in all types of transactions… Unfortunately, this law does not have any protective aspect for women. The bill to ban women under 40 from leaving the country is simply a way to restrict women’s rights and is a form of insult to this

Elaheh Koolai (former representative of the parliament): “Is approving the restriction of women under 40 years old and questioning their eligibility for managing their affairs intelligently and responsibly during their travels abroad, disregarding the valuable achievements of women’s widespread social presence and their comprehensive growth of knowledge and consciousness, not a neglect? In a situation where the competence of Iranian women to form a family and assume the crucial and determining role of motherhood at the age of 16 has been recognized in the country’s laws, why should women under 40 need permission from their guardian to obtain a passport and leave the country? Despite all the contradictions and problems in the country’s laws, we hope that the representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly will reject this insulting decision and distance themselves from injustice and discrimination, and pave the way for heavy waves of global infiltration and experiences of other societies. The Islamic Revolution has created the expectation for Iranian women to eliminate long-standing historical injustices. It is the responsibility

Puran Vali Morad (Secretary of the Islamic Women’s Coalition in an interview with Khabar Online): “Today, women are voting for their President, representatives of the Supreme Leader, members of the legislative assembly, and members of the city council. It is these women who will also vote for the second phase of choosing the leader of the system and ministers. Similarly, women’s votes play a determining role in all branches of the system. The question is, what have the members of the National Security Commission, who have responded to the government’s request, said about these women who are seen as determining their own fate and maintaining their own safety while traveling outside the country, and are in need of permission from a male guardian? This view of women as beings in need of a guardian is what allows for the permission of sexual violence against prepubescent children and the legal and authorized marriage of children under the age of puberty. This young girl, who is capable of being married to a

Mohammad Jafar Naenakar (Attorney at Law): “In the Iranian Constitution, Article 20 and Clause 14 of Article 3 acknowledge that women and men are equal in social rights and the law will equally protect them. It is not clear why the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament has suddenly restricted the eligibility of women to carry out their affairs and changed the age limit from 18 to 40. This is while a large number of Iranian women have higher education and are actively living in society, with many unmarried and experienced women studying or teaching in foreign universities or working in fields such as medicine, teaching, social work, and commerce both inside and outside of Iran. Until now, according to the Civil Code, married women of any age only needed permission from their husbands to leave the country. However, if this law is passed, considering the current state of the courts and competent authorities, it is likely that unmarried women who have lost their fathers will have