2007 Family Protection Bill

          
          8/9/2010
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          2007 FAMILY PROTECTION BILL
          A new proposed Fanily Protection Bill has been returned to the judiciary comnission of the
          Iranian parliament as a result of backlash against the bill's rrost discrirrinatory provisions. The
          bill was on the verge of consideration by the full parliament, and if ratified would further erode
          women's rights in Iran.
          Iran's current civil code is highly discriminatory, restricting women's custody rights and ability
          to divorce, lowering the minimum age of marriage for females, requiring the husband's
          permission for the wife to work outside of the home, and legalizing temporary marriages.The
          new proposed Family Protection Bill marks further regression. Among the most controversial
          provisions of the proposed bill:
          Article 22 effectively removes any requirement to register temporary marriages (sigheh),
          which are viewed in Iran as a form of legalized prostitution. The removal of the
          registration requirement eliminates any financial or legal protections for women in these
          unions, and for children who are born into terrporary marriages.
          Article 23 authorizes polygamous marriages contingent upon the financial capacity of the
          man. It does not set specific parameters for adequate financial resources to support
          multiple wives, or define overall concepts of justice or equal treatment of multiple wives.
          Most notably absent from the Fanily Protection Bill is any effective requirement of
          consent of the first wife for her husband to enter into a second marriage.
          Article 25 imposes a tax on the Mehr (dowry) paid to the wife. While this amount is legally
          owed to the wife at the time of the marriage, women often do not receive their dowries.
          Frequently it is only paid upon termination of the marriage, thus beconing a point of
          leverage for a husband against his wife if she desires a divorce. Taxation of the dowry
          reinforces a husband's financial power over his wife during marriage, and further inhibits a
          wife's potential for financial autonomy at the time of a divorce.
          The Fanily Protection Bill irrposes additional procedural impediments to divorce,
          particularly for women, who under the current civil code already have only limited access
          to divorce.
          Article 46 criminalizes the marriage of a foreigner to an Iranian woman without proper
          authorization. The foreign man is subject to between ninety days and one year
          imprisonment, and the woman (if married at her free will), her father (if he gave
          pernission), and the marriage officiant will be sentenced as accomplices.
          First introduced in August 2007, the proposed Family Protection Bill was passed by the legal
          and judicial commission of the parliament on July 9, 2008. Intense opposition by numerous
          groups, including activists in the One Million Signatures can-paign, was instrumental in
          preventing the bill's ratification by parliament in its current form.
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