Parliament Member: We are Behind Developed Countries in Gender Equality

A member of the Women’s Faction in Parliament says that according to international statistics, Iran is among the last countries in terms of gender gap. Based on these statistics, Iran ranks 16th among 19 Middle Eastern countries in terms of gender equality.

Parvane Salehshouri, during questioning of Mansour Ghlamali, Minister of Science, Research and Technology, said that despite Hassan Rouhani’s government promises, little has been done in recent years to improve women’s status, and if the minister is not allowed to employ women, this issue should be announced.

According to ILNA news agency, the representative of Tehran and member of the Women’s Faction in the Islamic Consultative Assembly expressed regret in a public session on Monday, the 2nd of Dey, that “incomplete and distorted statistics” are being published regarding women’s presence in the Ministry of Science.

She said there is much criticism about how women are utilized in the Ministry of Science, and as an example, “the Sabzevar New Technologies Institute, which is a women’s university, is run by a man, and the president of Al-Zahra University is also a man”.

Salehshouri, referring to the discrepancy in statistics between the Civil Service Organization and the Ministry of Science regarding women’s presence, said: “Different statistics such as 5,800 or 12,000 women in university academic staff are presented, but based on our investigation, the actual number is approximately 5,700 people.”

“Catastrophic” Situation of Women’s Presence in the Ministry of Science

The Women’s Faction member, criticizing the non-implementation of the President’s recommendation for using women in deputy positions and senior management posts in ministries, added: “Currently, there are a total of six women in leadership positions in the Ministry of Science, which is a catastrophic situation.”

Gender inequality in the Islamic Republic, despite Hassan Rouhani’s election promises in 2013 and 2016, remains very widespread, and statistics from international organizations also confirm this issue.

Parvane Salehshouri, while recalling reports related to the gender gap index in 2019, emphasized that these indicators show that improving women’s status during Rouhani’s presidency has not occurred.

The Tehran representative in Parliament said: “International statistics place Iran among the bottom five countries, meaning that the distance of gender justice between men and women in Iran is on par with the backward countries of the world.”

At the Bottom of the Global and Middle Eastern Tables

Based on the latest report from the World Economic Forum on international gender gap indices released a week ago, the Islamic Republic ranks 148th among 153 countries examined.

The Islamic Republic does not have a good situation among Middle Eastern countries either and ranks 16th among 19 countries. Israel ranks 64th globally and is at the top of Middle Eastern countries in terms of gender indices.

In this report, Iran ranks 118th in terms of gender equality in the educational sphere, which is apparently due to the significant presence of Iranian women in universities and higher education centers.

The use of female ministers in the cabinet and the presence of women in parliament are other indicators in which the Islamic Republic is in an unfavorable situation compared to Arab countries in the region.

Women’s Political Participation; Iran Behind Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Two years ago, when Hassan Rouhani, despite his promises, did not include any women in the proposed cabinet of the twelfth government, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, introduced 31 members of his new cabinet, which included 9 women. In the UAE’s previous government, eight women were cabinet members.

The presence of women in parliaments of countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE is incomparable to Iran. In Saudi Arabia, approximately one-fourth of parliamentary seats are held by women.

The tenth session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly with 17 women representatives holds the record for women’s presence in parliament throughout the entire life of the Islamic Republic. The number of women in this session has nearly doubled compared to the ninth parliament, but the share of Iranian women in parliamentary seats is still not more than about six percent.

In the 2019 gender equality index, like previous years, Scandinavian countries, including Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, rank at the top, and at the bottom of the table, the Islamic Republic is placed alongside Syria, Pakistan, Iraq, and Yemen.

Source: DW