Mandatory Permission from Husband and Father for Women's Mountaineering in Khorasan Razavi

The Mountaineering Board of Khorasan Razavi province has announced in a circular that married women must obtain permission from their husbands to participate in nature tourism and mountaineering programs. The board added that single women and those under 20 years old must also seek permission from their 'legal guardian (father)'. This circular was communicated to mountaineering clubs on November 4 of this year and cites 'Article 1105 of the Civil Code and the fatwas of religious scholars', stating that 'to protect the foundation of families, permission from the husband is required for married women and permission from the legal guardian for single women and teenagers up to the age of 20 is mandatory.' Ahmad Zahmatkesh, the head of the Khorasan Razavi board, stated that this board is merely 'reminding legal matters.' He added: 'Clause 1105 (of the Civil Code) emphasizes the man's guardianship for the foundation of the family, and we are just reminding the law.' According to Article 1105 of the Civil Code, 'in the relationship between spouses, the head of the family is a characteristic of the husband.' Zahmatkesh also mentioned that some clubs 'have adhered to this issue even for men for years to ensure their families are 'informed about their mountaineering plans.' In contrast, Batool Ghandami, a member of the Mashhad City Council, stated that 'only the legislator can intervene in this area.' She urged the Khorasan Razavi Mountaineering Board to apologize to women and revoke this circular. This circular has also received widespread attention on social media. For instance, Mustafa Tajzadeh, a reformist political activist, referred to this circular as a 'decision of the ISIS-like autonomous rule of Khorasan.' Mohammad Ali Abtahi, another reformist political activist, announced on his Twitter page that 'permission from a husband and guardian for mountaineering is neither religious nor legal nor accepted by custom.' Writer Faraj Sarkouhi also tweeted that if mountaineering and nature tourism 'is enforced by force, then after a while, selectively, some women will be taken to the mountains and nature tourism to make our step-by-step reforms happy. By the way, why have they forgotten 'street walking' and...?' Some social media users have also written that this action is based on current Iranian laws that allow men to restrict women's movement from home, and laws regarding women need to change. According to many experts, Iranian laws lay the groundwork for discrimination against women, and as Bahman Aghaei Diba noted in a commentary for Radio Farda, Iranian laws conflict with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in at least 12 areas, including inheritance, blood money, the right to divorce, the right to travel, and the right to dress. He wrote that 'the right to travel for women is in the hands of men, and women cannot travel without the direct permission of their husbands or male guardians (the only criterion for their selection as guardians is their physical maleness). Travel in this sense is interpreted even as stepping outside the home.' The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women is an international treaty aimed at eliminating all forms of discrimination against women, and in nearly four decades since its adoption, only four countries, including Iran, have not joined this convention.