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| Simin Sabri |
Simin Sabri states, "Iran’s family laws are full of privileges granted to men, and even the most basic human rights of women are placed in the hands of men."
In a conversation with Voice of America, the political activist and psychiatrist commented on the disputes surrounding mehr (the sum of money a man promises to his wife upon marriage) and the right to divorce in Iran.
Sabri highlights that, under Iran’s Sharia-based legal system, even a woman's basic rights are handed over to the man she marries:
"Traditional and Sharia laws still dominate Iran’s legal system, and if you examine family laws, they are filled with rules that grant superiority to men and place even the most fundamental human rights of women in the hands of men. A woman's obedience and submission, her travel permission, child custody, and the right to divorce—all of these are under a man's control."
Simin Sabri considers the practice of determining a sum of money for a woman at the time of marriage to be degrading. However, she argues that the mehr law should not be abolished unless other laws that disadvantage women are also repealed.
"Mehr itself is just one law among many flawed laws... But on the other hand, the majority of people living below the poverty line in Iran are women. Even when working in the same jobs, their income is lower than that of men. That’s why only rarely do well-educated or wealthy women waive their mehr. But what about the woman who has worked unpaid at home and, when she becomes physically weak and old, has no financial support or insurance? If her husband throws her out, where will she go? If she does not receive mehr, what will she do at that age? There is also the issue that men, according to the law, can prevent their wives from working whenever they wish," Simin Sabri adds.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Simin Səbri: İran qanunları qadının ibtidai hüquqlarını da kişinin əlinə tapşırır