Women Gather in Front of Parliament

By IHRV | August 14, 2008

Among the reactions that have been expressed and widely reported in news media since a bill was submitted to parliament on the subject of family protection has been the reaction of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. Ms. Ebadi has declared that if the bill is brought to the floor of parliament there will be a mass gathering in front of the parliament building. At the beginning of this week, Iranian papers announced the possible introduction of the bill during the upcoming open parliament session. In this regard we conducted an interview with Ms. Ebadi.
Ms. Abedi, you stated that if this bill is presented in the open session of parliament then a gathering will be held in front of the parliament. These days there are talks of presenting the bill during the open session. Are you still committed to your statement?
I am still committed to my statement and I believe Iranian women, including myself, must stand united against the bill which could destroy the foundation of family, and we will try to prevent the passage of this bill through constructive criticism. One way to attract the attention of representatives and get them to reject the bill is by holding a large gathering of women when the bill is brought to the floor of the Islamic parliament.

Is this event likely to happen soon?

Briefly, if I may explain the process of laws being passed, in the first round of voting when a bill is accepted, representatives approve presenting the bill in its entirety without individually examining each article of the bill. Sometimes the bill is rejected and never reaches the second round of voting.
Accordingly, if the bill is presented next Wednesday or any other day of the upcoming week, then the bill will be placed on the parliament’s agenda to enter the floor where its individual articles will be examined. Personally, I hope the honorable parliament’s representatives, especially women representatives and the minority coalition, will vote down the bill and that the number of nay votes is large enough to stop the bill from a second round of voting.
If the bill survives the first round, then all articles of the bill, especially Articles 23 and 25, which are full of irregularities and have already been rejected by religious law, will be reviewed and put to vote. It is at this time when a protest will be materialized. In other words, a protest will begin when the bill is prepared for review and brought to the floor for approval.

Will you invite civil right activists, especially for women’s rights, for this protest?

The form and method of a protest will be decided based on a discussion among all women’s groups and those who are interested in women’s issues. Any step on this issue must be coordinated with everyone’s input to guarantee its success

What are your and other women’s right activists single most important demand as it relates to this bill?

Many articles of the bill are inaccurate and must be improved. Problems with the bill are not just related to Articles 23 and 25. From a legal standpoint, many other issues will be put forth whose importance are no less than allowing for multiple spouses. For instance, not much attention has been paid to the rights of children who would be born under these temporary marriages. When a man is allowed to enter a temporary marriage without registration then proving paternity would be more difficult. Furthermore, a man with multiple wives usually creates a rivalry among children not from the same mothers. I only point out these examples to point out problems that are much harder than are currently envisioned. The bill has been prepared without any research, and interestingly, the bill is against Islamic laws, and the calling of a religious edict (fetva) against this bill proves this point.

Ms. Ebadi, an interesting event that has arisen since presenting the bill to parliament is that coalition made up of many different women’s organizations is protesting the bill. This is a rare event that has not been witnessed in past few years. What is behind such a coalition?

The most important laws related to women are laws related to a family’s foundation. For instance, not many women may have to endure the belittling experience of witnessing their court testimony be counted only as half of that of a man’s, or not many women will want to obtain a passport and travel outside the country and then realize that they must first obtain permission from their husband to exit the country.

However, the laws related to family are the types of laws that cover most if not all women. Usually, many women will one day marry and family laws will apply them. As such, it is important to normalize laws related to family since under current law there are many points that discriminate against women and have led to an unstable family foundation. As a result, all women, regardless of their economic, social or political standing have turned against this law. We must congratulate the authors of this bill, since they have devised a bill that has strengthened solidarity among all Iranian women who have protested in unison.

However, a few news reports have indicated that some women representatives approve the bill – why?

I imagine such approval is more political and is only meant to preserve ones social standing. The women who cast a vote for this bill may tomorrow be the same women who might find themselves contending with younger women that her husband may have married.

Women who cast a vote for this must realize the lifespan of a representative is only a four-years, however, they must spend a lifetime with their husband. Accordingly, they must not sacrifice their interests in four years in parliament for a lifetime of living.

Source: Asiah Amini, Rooz

link:http://www.ihrv.org/inf/