Women's Equality

As Chairman of the Expediency Council, Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani is pushing for greater equality for women:

"Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani told female politicians in Tehran on May 20 that it is necessary to 'amend areas of the civil law that create certain problems for Iranian women,' Mehr reported. He told a gathering of members of 'fundamentalist' or conservative women's groups that 'there is a sense that certain laws are not in keeping with the conditions of our time.' He expressed support for the mobilization of more women in public life through political parties, and said no society could grow adequately if deprived of the presence of half its population in public, business, or social life. Mariam Behruzi, a conservative politician who attended the meeting, told ILNA on May 20 that the groups discussed equalizing blood money for men and women. Blood money is the compensation paid to the relatives of a murder victim, but currently the fine paid for a dead man is twice that for a woman."