Mehri Jafari: The View of the Man as the Head of the Family Dominates Family Law in Iran

Əlirza Quluncu (Alirza Quluncu) - May 22, 2020

Lawyer Mehri Jafari

Lawyer Mehri Jafari stated in an interview with Voice of America that "family law in Iran is not written based on friendship, love, and family affection between spouses. It is based on a view of leadership, that is, a perspective that sees the man as the head of the woman."

In the interview, Jafari discusses family legislation in Iran, as well as the recent comments made by the Iranian Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Masoumeh Ebtekar, regarding a project that aims to "make the conditions for divorce more difficult for men."

According to Masoumeh Ebtekar, the Iranian President's Vice President for Women's and Family Affairs, the project designed to "make it harder for men to divorce" has been sent to the government's projects commission. Ebtekar stated that, under this project, "men will only be able to divorce their wives under certain conditions."

Jafari explained that "they want to lower the divorce statistics in Iran, so they impose certain conditions on men, just like they do on women, to restrict divorce. However, these conditions have not been clearly defined."

She emphasizes that the needs of society are not taken into account in the preparation of family law.

"When we look at some of these conditions, we see that there are no specific criteria. For example, it states that if a woman is 'disobedient' (not compliant or difficult), or if she does not show 'submission,' the man can file for divorce. This in itself is a problem. How can we interpret the term 'disobedient'?... In practice, I don't believe that this law will create problems for men in terms of divorce. But its social impacts will be significant. It will greatly affect families," the lawyer notes.

She believes that even if divorce conditions are made more difficult for men, it will also harm women: "The issue is that the law cannot dictate that if you do not want to live with someone, I command you to live with them. If the state wants these individuals to coexist, it can provide support. It could allocate budget resources to identify family issues and offer training and counseling services."

Masoumeh Ebtekar, Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs

Jafari also emphasizes that making divorce conditions more difficult for men could lead to an increase in domestic violence:

"The point is that men hold significant power. Our women are behind men in physical, economic, and social terms. This is even true in Europe. In this situation, if they are forced to live together, the man may create conditions where the woman relinquishes all her rights and says, 'let's separate.'"

According to the lawyer, both family legislation and the ruling system's perspective on women hinder women's freedom of movement.

"If a woman wants to make a change in her life or is considering separation, she will initially find that the laws prevent her from taking action. In Iranian law, women can file for divorce only if they can prove they have been subjected to violence. However, these laws have been so convoluted that you can see a woman proving her husband is a drug addict or that she has been tortured, yet she still faces difficulties," Mehri Jafari states.

She adds, "Even Masoumeh Ebtekar, who was expected to have a better outlook on women's issues, shows how she writes against women. For instance, she talks about submission. What does submission mean? It means that a woman must obey the man like a slave. If she does not submit, she loses all her rights, and this gives the man the right to divorce her. This legislation is not based on friendship, love, and family affection. It is written from a leadership perspective that views men as heads of women. Therefore, this will never be fixed. It will only change if the system is transformed into a humane and just environment."