Review of Passport Reform Proposal for Women's Exit from the Country in Parliament

The Deputy for Women's Affairs and Family of the Iranian Presidency announced the review of a passport reform proposal aimed at facilitating women's exit from the country in the Islamic Consultative Assembly. According to IRNA, Shahindokht Molaverdi stated on Friday, August 6, that this proposal has been officially received in Parliament and is ready for examination by representatives. This proposal, as announced by Fatemeh Zolghadr, a member of the Women's Fraction's board in Parliament, was prepared following the incident involving Zahra Naimati, an Iranian athlete, and was presented to Parliament with urgency, signed by 17 members of the Women's Fraction. Zahra Naimati is a member of the Iranian women's national archery team for the disabled and the first woman in the history of Iranian sports to win a gold medal at the Paralympic Games. In May 2017, Iranian media reported that this female athlete was banned from leaving the country by her husband, which caused significant controversy at the time. Reham Shahabipour, Zahra Naimati's husband, reacted to the protests by claiming that after the Rio Paralympic Games, Zahra Naimati left home 'for reasons' and that he had 'banned her from leaving' so she could not participate in any international tournaments. According to Article 18 of Iran's passport law, a married woman 'even if under 18 years old' can only obtain a passport with her husband's written consent or in emergency cases with the approval of the local prosecutor where the passport application is made. Article 19 of the same law also states that if 'obstacles to issuing a passport arise after the incident,' 'the passport holder's exit will be prevented and the passport will be confiscated until the obstacle is removed.' In September 2014, the Iranian women's futsal team captain, Niloufar Ardalan, was also banned from leaving the country, which led to significant protests when the national team participated in the Asian Cup without her. Following media coverage of this issue, the Deputy for Women's Affairs and Family of the President stated, 'As long as the law is not amended, we will try to ensure that women active in science and sports can attend international conferences and arenas.' In 2013, a bill to amend the passport law was presented to the Islamic Consultative Assembly, which further restricted women's ability to leave Iran, but this bill was eventually removed from the agenda. Nevertheless, some female representatives in Parliament have once again initiated efforts to reform the passport law in favor of women. Parvaneh Salahshouri, the head of the Women's Fraction in Parliament, is among those representatives who have stated that the passport law reform proposal has been submitted to the Parliament's board to facilitate women's exit from the country. Salahshouri added that under this proposal, 'women active in various sports, economic, and scientific fields will have the opportunity to leave the country.' She further stated that 'this proposal anticipates that in emergency cases, these women can leave the country with the approval of the judiciary.' According to these representatives, this proposal aims to facilitate the exit of Iranian women, allowing them to leave the country without the permission of their husbands or guardians, but with judicial approval. The justification for this proposal states, 'Considering that for many years, women athletes, artists, and educated individuals in cultural and economic fields have faced difficulties in being sent abroad, the proposal to amend Clause 3 of Article 18 of the passport law has been put on the agenda.'