Iran May Finally Pass Historic Bill That Will Protect Women From Domestic Violence

The Iranian executive branch has just drafter a historic piece of legislation that aims to prevent several forms of violence against women.

Many female activists and officials have come together in Iran to fight for this bill, which is called the Protection, Dignity and Security of Women Against Violence. This bill defines violence as “any behavior inflicted on women due to sexuality, vulnerable position or type of relationship, and inflicts harm to their body, psyche, personality and dignity, or restricts or deprives them of legal rights and freedoms.”

Masoumeh Ebtekar, vice president for women and family affairs, has long been a major advocate for the bill, which also aims to give more psychological support for women who have been victims of domestic violence.

“Through an inter-sectoral process, we developed national indicators for gender equity, which laid the ground for the first result based Plan for Women and Family Advancement in 31 provinces,” Ebtekar told the Tehran Times back in October.

He added that the bill was based on the work of “hundreds of hours of work by tens of legal experts, judges, executives and officials,” and dedicated it to the “worthy and patient Iranian women.”

On top of all, the bill calls on state broadcasters in Iran to create programs that advocate for the support for women, and will remind Iranians that against domestic violence goes along with family values. Finally, the bill will direct the Department of Education to create courses for parents, students, and teachers in order to help better identify vulnerable students who are being abused or in abusive homes.

The bill was passed by the Cabinet in Iran earlier this month, and it will now need to go through Parliament to become law. The bill could not be passed soon enough, as Iran is currently one of four countries in the world that is not ratified the United Nations Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

“For decades, Iranian women have been waiting for comprehensive legislation to prevent violence against women and prosecute their abusers,” Tara Sepehri Far, Iran researcher at the organization Human Rights Watch, said last month. “With the growing national attention to this important issue, the law is long overdue, and parliament should not waste any time in adopting it.”

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