page_title: Women's rights in Iran
section_title: Women's rights movement in Iran
hierarchical_section_title: Women's rights in Iran / Women's rights movement in Iran
caption_attribution_description: English: Board of directors of Jam'iyat-e Nesvan-e Vatankhah, a women's right association in Tehran (1923-1933) فارسی: هیئت مدیره جمعیت نسوان وطنخواه ، انجمن حقوق زنان در تهران (۱۳۰۱-۱۳۱۱) نشسته از چپ به راست: فخرآفاق پارسا ، ملوک اسکندری ، کبری چنانی ، مستوره افشار ، نصرت مشیری ، صفیه اسکندری ، عصمت‌الملوک شریفی. ایستاده: مهرانگیز اسکندری ، بانو چنانی ، هائیده افشار ، عباسه پایور ، قدسیه مشیری.
context_page_description: During the late 20th and early 21st centuries in Iran, women's rights have been severely restricted compared with those in most developed nations. The World Economic Forum's 2017 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Iran 140 out of 144 countries for gender parity. In 2017 in Iran, females comprised just 19% of the paid workforce with seven percent growth since 1990. In 2017, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security Index ranked Iran in the bottom tercile of 153 countries. Compared to other South Asian regions, women in Iran have a better access to financial accounts, education, and cellphones. Iran was ranked 116 out of the 153 countries in terms of legal discrimination against women.
  In Iran, women's rights have changed according to the form of government ruling the country and attitudes towards women's rights to freedom and self-determination have changed frequently. With the rise of each government, a series of mandates for women's rights have affected a broad range of issues, from voting rights to dress code.
  The rights and legal status of Iranian women have changed since the early 20th century, especially during the past three systems of government.
context_section_description: In Iran, women's pursuit of equal rights to men date back to the 19th and early 20th centuries. According to Nayereh Tohidi, women's movements in Iran can be divided into eight periods.
  1905–1925: this period was during the constitutional revolution, which marked the end of the Qajar dynasty. Women's efforts were mostly secretive, and their goals were to improve literacy, women's health, and prevent polygamy and domestic violence.
  1925–1940s: This era marked the beginning of the Pahlavi dynasty and the reign of Reza Shah. In this period, women were not required to veil themselves and gained access to universities.
  1940s–1950s: this was the era of nationalization of Iran's oil industry and brought women further access to education and some political activism to some extent. Except for the Family Protection Law that failed and was repealed, no major reforms were made during this era.
  1960s–1970s: During the era of the White Revolution and modernization, women saw greater legal reforms in voting rights and family protection laws, as well as an increased participation in the economy.
  1979–1997: The 1979 revolution saw the closure of women's centers and the decline of women's contributions to the economy.
  1997–2005: During Khatami's rule, reforms gave women more access to the feminist press and free press.
  2005–2013: The Ahmadinejad era of neo-conservativism saw the increase of repression and the rise of unemployment.
  2013–present: The era of moderation under Rouhani's rule has not seen any major reforms to the status of women because hardliners already repealed most of them.
  In the mid-19th century, Tahirih was the first Iranian woman to appear in public without wearing a veil; she is known as the mother of the women's rights movements in Iran. Others followed her to raise the status of women. Among these was Safiya Yazdi, the wife of a leading clergyman Muhammad Husain Yazdi. Safiya Yazdi, with the support of her husband, opened Iffatiyah Girls School in 1910 and gained praise for her outspoken lectures on women's issues .
  Women in Iran are becoming more informed about current trends within global feminism. They are also becoming more engaged, especially with the mechanisms, tools, and mecganisms created through the U.N. gender projects and conventions, such as Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Due to the vetting power of the conservative Guardian Council, however, attempts made by the reformist deputies in the sixth Majlis to ratify CEDAW did not succeed. Most women activists both Islamic and secular have been framing their demands within the CEDAW framework.
  In recent years, the Iranian government has invested in women's organizations and activist initiatives that seek to empower women to learn skills that give women more independence. The state, however, continues to restrict the movement of women's rights activists traveling abroad. Activist and photographer Alieh Motalebzadeh was sentenced to three years in prison for attending a workshop for women's empowerment in Georgia.
  The women's rights movement in Iran continues to attempt to institute reforms, particularly with the One Million Signatures Campaign to End Discrimination Against Women.
caption: The board of directors of "Jam'iat e nesvan e vatan-khah", a women's rights association in Tehran (1923–1933)
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