Criticism from Rouhani's Deputy on Rejection of Proposal to Establish National Center for Women's Protection

Shahindokht Molaverdi, Iran's Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, criticized the rejection of the proposal to establish a "National Authority for the Protection of Women Against Violence" by the government's social commission in an interview with ISNA on Sunday (September 28). She stated, "If the proposal for establishing the National Authority for the Protection of Women Against Violence had been approved in the legislative commission, many of these programs would now be implemented in coordination with this authority, but there was opposition to the establishment of the National Authority from outside the government, especially from the women's faction in the ninth parliament." Molaverdi had announced in November 2014 the proposal to establish the "National Authority for the Protection and Support of Women" to the government, stating that this proposal was to be reviewed by the government's social commission. She explained that "we concluded that we should propose the National Authority for the Protection and Support of Women Against Violence, similar to the National Authority for Child Rights, to be established under the Ministry of Justice, as the Ministry of Justice is the intermediary between the government and the judiciary, and any action we want to take for the protection of women against violence must have the cooperation of the judiciary." However, at that time, the women's faction in the ninth parliament opposed this proposal, with Laleh Eftekhari, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stating, "The establishment of a National Authority for the Protection of Women Against Violence is not necessary." This parliament member further added, "We are more in need of establishing a comprehensive intelligent center for women and family, and we should spend more time and thought on this issue rather than other statements that cause uproar and exploitation by foreign networks." On Sunday, Molaverdi further explained the rejection of this proposal, stating, "Considering that the members of the faction believed that just as the National Authority for Child Rights oversees the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Women’s Affairs Office also intended to provide the groundwork for Iran's accession to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women with the proposal to establish the National Authority for the Protection of Women, whereas such authorities should be established after joining conventions to oversee the proper implementation of their provisions." She mentioned that in the legislative commission, the issue was raised as to why there should be two documents regarding violence against women, one being the bill for the security of women and the other being the national document on the security of women and children in social relations (subject of Article 227 of the Fifth Development Plan), and a proposal was made to merge these two documents, which was welcomed by all council members except the Women and Family Affairs Office. She added, "After six months of discussions, it was concluded that the bill cannot be merged with the document, as the latter is a strategic document that has progressed to the level of an operational program, while the bill has its own specific form and nature; therefore, these two subjects cannot be merged." According to a 2004 study by the Social Affairs Office of the Ministry of Interior conducted in 28 provinces of Iran, 66% of Iranian women have experienced violence at least once since the beginning of their married life. Mohammad Ali Esfahani, spokesperson for the Legal and Judicial Commission of the parliament, also stated that in Iran, the mortality rate among women due to violence is equal to that of women dying from cancer. Officials of the eleventh government have announced that efforts to support women against violence and injustice have begun in the past three years, and they are trying to get these changes approved and legalized. The comprehensive bill for the security of women "is in its final stages." The Vice President for Women and Family Affairs also announced on Sunday that the review of the "comprehensive bill for the security of women against violence" is in its final stages. Shahindokht Molaverdi told ISNA that this bill has various aspects of "deterrence, protection, support, and legal." She added that alongside this bill, the pursuit of amendments to some civil and Islamic penal laws related to women is on the agenda. This official announced that the reform of the criminal procedure code, civil procedure code, and the family protection law are among the laws that require some amendments. As Molaverdi stated, "The family protection law, although recently implemented, has strengths and weaknesses."