Special report on the changing role of women - Continued

An era of reform

The victory of President Muhammad Khatami’s liberals over the long-ruling conservative elite in parliamentary elections in April 2000, and his re-election for a second presidential term in June 2001, has buttressed the reformists and opened the door to an era of social and political transformation in the country.

In the high streets of central Tehran, for example, scores of Iranian women can be seen wearing western clothes covered by a stylish three-quarter-length coat, in place of a traditional full-length manto, complete with a fashionable designer headscarf.

"We have only been able to do this under President Khatami’s rule," Baghestani said, adding that the way in which a headscarf was worn had also changed. "We wear the headscarf at the back of the head and we have a big choice of colours and patterns". High street shops selling mantoes these days cater for all tastes and ages. "You can find long ones, short ones, baggy ones and fitted ones in light as well as dark colours," she added.

But some aspects of life are still restricted. In restaurants across the capital and elsewhere, women are forced to keep their mantoes and scarves on as they sit down to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner.

"The mixture of western clothes with the headscarf is the paradox of our society. Yes times have changed under the reformist government, but we must remember what it was like before the revolution and we still have a long way to go," Shahla Lahiji told IRIN. She spoke of the pre-revolution days when men and women were more or less equally treated and said much more needed to be done to improve women's rights.

The female publisher has already paid a price for her passion to improve the rights of women. In 2000, she was jailed after speaking against the government at a women’s conference in Berlin. "I was sentenced to four years but after an appeal and a heavy fine I was in jail for two months," she explained.

The relative freedom of the press is regarded by many as one of the greatest achievements of Khatami’s reformist administration, and has meant the press has become a target for conservatives in their power struggle with reformists, according to the BBC.

Sixteen reformist newspapers were closed and several prominent journalists jailed in April 2000, and in December a court ordered the top-selling daily newspaper, Hamshahri, to restrict its distribution to the capital, Tehran, the BBC says.

At present there are some 500 female publishers in Tehran, according to Lahiji, who also celebrated the number of female filmmakers in Iran, calling it a remarkable achievement. "The best film makers here are women and it is fantastic and very positive," she maintained.

The recent changes and improvements that have taken place have also encouraged a return of qualified Iranians from abroad. "At the end of the day we love our country and this is where we want to be," Rehmina Zaraki told IRIN in Tehran, having returned to her homeland after spending 12 years in San Francisco. Zaraki said her decision to return was also based on her understanding of the changes for women.

The legal struggle

Despite the undoubted moves towards social liberalisation under Khatami’s government, his support for greater social and political freedoms has often put him at odds with conservative groups keen to maintain established Islamic traditions.

The president is thought to hold little real power under the constraints of a political system that remains restrictive despite some political and economic reforms. As a result conservatives have been able to use the courts and mosques to limit liberalization.

The ongoing tussle between the reformist and traditional camps has given rise, in some areas, to a degree of ambiguity in both society and the law in the treatment of women’s rights.

For example, under shari’ah law women in Iran are not allowed in public in the company of a man who is not related to her. However, only very few random checks are made on cars and then mostly only during religious festivals.

"Laws still discriminate against women. For example, if a woman wants to leave the country she has to get permission from her husband," Lahiji told IRIN. "If a woman divorces her husband and her children are of a certain age then they will remain with the father," she said..

According to many women’s rights activists, while the reformists have taken up issues such as domestic violence, they are less willing to tackle some of the public restrictions still placed on women.

Transforming many of the social norms inherited from the revolutionary phase has its counterpart in similar attempts to challenge the legal basis of some of those norms.

With 13 female MPs in the 290-member Iranian parliament, legal change has at times been slow, although there is a growing sense that the need for women’s rights is gaining greater recognition. "Some of the laws restricting married women and single mothers have been changed," reformist MP, Fatemeh Rakei told IRIN in Tehran.

In 1999 a law was passed by parliament allowing judges to award custody of minor children to the mother in divorce cases if it was deemed that the best interests of the child would be served. Prior to the enactment of that law, the father would have automatically been given custody.

However, there is still a lack of awareness among women of some of the legal changes, particularly in the rural areas, according to IPPF.

In addition, there is some resistance to changing the law in favour of greater freedoms for women. Also in 1999 a bill was passed in parliament making it a crime "to create division between women and men through defending [women’s] rights outside the legal and shari’ah frameworks," and also sought to ban pictures of unveiled women appearing in the press. The bill has yet to become law, but did pass a second reading in parliament in August 1999.

Notably, Iran is yet to sign the UN Convention for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, [www.un.org], adopted by the UN in 1979, the same year as the Iranian revolution.

Although the Iranian Constitution [www.iranonline.com] particularly provides for the important role of women in all aspects of society and the economy, it is still based heavily on shari’ah law. A 12-member judicial body – the Council of Guardians - exists to, among other things, ensure that any new legislation is in accordance with the constitution and with shari’ah

In addition, an Assembly of Experts, elected by universal suffrage but consisting entirely of clerics, decides on religious and spiritual matters, including the appointment of the country’s spiritual leader (the Wali Faqih).

In the opinion of Fatemeh Rakei, the only way to progress was to look onwards and upwards. "I hope we reach a new state which brings a new look to the laws on punishment and recruitment of women and that the parliament accepts our struggle without too much of a struggle," she added.

Rakei said one of her main concerns over the future of women in Iran was the type of employment available for women and the dearth of women in senior positions. "We don’t have many women in high positions and this is something we need to work on."

One encouraging sign lies in the appointment of Iran's first female Vice-President, Dr Masoumeh Ebtekar is one of seven vice-presidents in President Khatami's Cabinet. A 37-year-old university professor with a Ph.D. in immunology and a mother of two, Ebtekar holds the portfolio of environmental affairs and is responsible for a staff of three thousand personnel at the Environmental Department.

Meanwhile, at the women-only Internet café in Tehran, the mixed feelings of Liberation and caution will take time to change. "The headscarf is part of my religion and I don’t mind wearing it. But it is a nice feeling to have the choice," student Rohi Akbari told IRIN.