Iran Among the '10 Worst Countries in the World' for Women

A report examining the status of gender discrimination eradication worldwide has identified the 10 worst countries for women. Iran ranks sixth in this list, with Yemen, Pakistan, Chad, Syria, and Mali occupying the first to fifth positions. According to the English-language website Huffington Post, this report published by the World Economic Forum analyzed indicators such as equal job opportunities, access to healthcare and insurance, educational opportunities, and political participation among men and women in countries around the world. The seventh to tenth positions in this table are held by Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Jordan, and Morocco. The text of this report is available on the World Economic Forum's website. In some countries, the gap of discrimination and gender inequality is institutionalized, and no efforts to change the situation are observed. For example, in Chad, 55% of girls are enrolled in primary school, while this figure for boys is 71%. The inequality in primary education is similarly reflected in countries like Ivory Coast, Pakistan, and Yemen. Another indicator is the gender literacy gap (reading and writing) between men and women. In Mali, the literacy rate for women (at the reading and writing level) is 25%, while for men it is 43%. According to the World Economic Forum, some reasons for inequality stem from a lack of economic progress, which prevents the proper training of a sufficient workforce. Other indicators in this report show significant differences among countries. In most of the countries categorized as 'bad for women' based on the indicators, men's presence in political positions at the ministerial level is 80%. Among these 10 countries, only Pakistan has women's parliamentary representation above 20%, while other countries have low statistics for women's parliamentary presence. Huffington Post adds that women's participation in economic activities and access to job opportunities are also low in these 10 countries. In these countries, men are three times more likely than women to find better job opportunities. In this regard, Syria is the worst country, where 76% of men have job opportunities, but this figure for women in Syria is only 14%. Additionally, in these countries, women's income is lower than men's. For example, the average annual income of women in Iran is less than $5,000, while men earn about $26,000 per year. In Lebanon, men have a similar income, but for women, this figure is close to $7,000.