Iran offer of paternity leave an emancipatory policy?

“The bill is discriminatory. Whether you qualify depends on where you live and who you work for.”

Shahrzad News :Iranian government officials have recently introduced bills to the Majles (parliament) calling for an extension of maternity leave for women and for the first time, paternity leave for their husbands.

However many are wondering why a government that consistently makes life more and more difficult for Iranian women should be interested in introducing such measures. Is it really trying to help women? Or does it want to make them more housebound? Until five years ago Iranian women had the right to take four months maternity leave, raised to six months in 2006. The Ministry of Health says it now wants to ratify a bill that will increase that period to twelve months and give husbands two weeks paternity leave. The proposal has caused considerable concern among working women and women’s rights groups, who argue that in view of a general lack of job security in the country, employers can easily sack women who are absent for a whole year. They may also be denied their human and civil rights.

Economic and Cultural Challenges

The paternity leave clause will only apply to civil servants, not to those in the private sector. Nevertheless the notion is unprecedented in Iran. Shahrzad News reporters interviewed twenty people, most of whom had not heard about it. They all blamed national press and broadcasters for failing to tell the public about it.

A woman from Ahwaz, an oil town in southern Iran, said: “The bill is discriminatory. Whether you qualify depends on where you live and who you work for.” A Tehrani woman pointed to cultural challenges she felt the new laws might bring. “It all depends on the attitude of the husband. They might decide to just rest at home for two weeks, rather than help their wives with the new baby. Paternity leave will only be a good thing if it actually helps women rather than adding to their responsibilities.”

Source: Shahrzad News