Ebtekar announced the possibility of sending the women's security bill to the parliament in the next month

The Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs announced that the bill for women's security against violence has been sent to the judiciary for completion, expressing hope that it will be sent to the parliament next month. According to Mehr News Agency, Masoumeh Ebtekar stated on Friday, October 6, that the women's security bill, after initial review in the government's legislative commission, has been referred to the judiciary for the completion of legal provisions. Ms. Ebtekar mentioned that a working group has also been formed in the judiciary for collaboration and coordination regarding this bill. She expressed hope that this bill would be presented to the parliament next month. On August 22, Ms. Ebtekar had also promised to pursue the women's security bill against violence 'with seriousness.' Her optimism comes at a time when Zabihollah Khodayan, the legal deputy of the judiciary, announced on Thursday, August 24, that the bill to combat violence against women 'has been drafted solely from a gender perspective.' According to Khodayan, 70 out of 100 articles of the bill on combating violence against women have 'criminal descriptions' and 'even imposes imprisonment for the slightest tension between spouses.' The women's security bill was prepared during Hassan Rouhani's first government. In this context, Shahindokht Molaverdi, the former Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, stated in January 2017 that the bill proposed the establishment of a women's security committee and the creation of a support fund for 'victimized' women. According to Ms. Molaverdi, the supporting document for the women's security bill against violence has also been prepared. Mohammad Ali Pourmokhtar, a principlist member of parliament, had previously reported that based on this bill, special courts would be established to punish violence against women, and a female advisory judge would be used in these cases. Statistics published in January 2017 by forensic officials in Tehran show that in that year, spousal abuse was the main reason for citizens in Tehran to visit forensic medicine, with an average of 52 cases of spousal abuse reported daily. However, in December 2014, Mohammad Ali Esfahani, the spokesperson for the Legal and Judicial Commission of the Iranian parliament, stated that only 'less than 35 percent' of domestic violence cases in Iran are reported to the police. According to Esfahani, based on the results of a study, out of 180 complaints by women against domestic violence, 128 cases had various reasons for 'not being interested in pursuing legal action.' Maryam Kian-Arthi, a lawyer, also mentioned last year in a meeting that 'according to research by the Ministry of Interior in 2004, about 66 percent of Iranian women experienced violence at least once during their married life.' In 2014, Shahindokht Molaverdi also reported that 32 volumes containing the results of a national study on forms of domestic violence against women in Iran had 'gone missing,' and no copies were found 'in the Ministry of Interior or the Women's Affairs Office.' According to Ms. Molaverdi, this project was conducted in 28 provinces of the country by the Ministry of Interior and universities across Iran during Mohammad Khatami's presidency, but during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, these reports were 'set aside,' not utilized, and ultimately went missing. November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, designated since 1981 to unite and create global efforts in this regard. On November 25, 1960, three sisters named Maria, Patria, and Antonia Mirabal were killed by agents of Rafael Trujillo, the former dictator of the Dominican Republic, and this date was also recognized as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. According to assessments by the United Nations, one in three women will experience sexual or physical violence in their lifetime. In this context, the opposition of the deputy of the judiciary to the bill to combat violence against women, the highest visits of Tehran residents to forensic medicine due to disputes, accidents, or spousal abuse, and the criticism of the vice president by rejecting the proposal to establish a national women's protection center are notable.