Bill for Women's Security Against Violence to Be Submitted to Government

The Director General of the Legal Studies Office in the Vice Presidency for Women and Family Affairs of the Iranian Presidency announced the possibility of presenting a bill titled 'Comprehensive Security for Women Against Violence' to the Cabinet by the end of the current Iranian calendar month of Shahrivar (September). On Friday, July 16, Ashraf Gharami-Zadegan stated that this bill consists of two sections: criminal and civil, with the criminal section being reviewed by the judiciary and the civil section being examined by her office. She mentioned that several meetings have been held between the Vice Presidency for Women and Family Affairs and the judiciary regarding the 'criminal' section of this bill, and assessed the cooperation between the two institutions as 'good.' This official expressed hope that with the effective actions of these two bodies, the bill would be submitted to the government by the end of Shahrivar. Gharami-Zadegan added that 'we need this law to ensure women's security against violence' and 'we hope that [this law, after being approved by the parliament] will be implemented in the near future.' Last December, Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Deputy for Women and Family Affairs of the Presidency, also reported on the renewed pursuit of the bill for women's security against violence. This bill was introduced by the Center for Women and Family Affairs during the tenth government and had been stalled in the government’s legislative commission. In 2014, Molaverdi reported the disappearance of 32 volumes of results from a national survey on forms of domestic violence against women, stating that no copies exist in the Ministry of Interior. According to United Nations assessments, one in three women will experience sexual or physical violence in their lifetime. Mohammad Ali Esfanani, spokesperson for the Legal and Judicial Commission of the Parliament, stated that in Iran, the mortality rate among women due to violence is equal to that of cancer. Based on a 2004 study by the Social Affairs Office of the Ministry of Interior, conducted in collaboration with the Center for Women’s Affairs and the Ministry of Science across 28 provinces in Iran, 66% of Iranian women have experienced violence at least once since the beginning of their married life.