The National Report of Improvement of Women’s Status in the Islamic Republic of

Iran, from NGO perspective, is open to the world when monopoly of world’s powers

and development of neo-conservatism has subjected women’s role and status to

new challenges and crisis.

This is while, insecurity, crisis of globalization of neo-liberalism, war and military

movements have shadowed the neighboring countries and threats of the US and

other countries, is increasing through mass media over our country.

Monopolized authoritarianism has started its extensive efforts through war, military

and political threats, economic sanctions and diverting global public attitudes to

endanger the achievements of the Islamic World.

So, the only dialogue and reasonable voice that can ensure achievement of sustainable

development and peace of global justice is doomed to silence among all the

new war weapons. This represents the necessity that the Plan of Dialogue among

Civilizations, which is the peaceful plan of the Islamic Republic of Iran in international

arena, walk over its geographical limits and reaches to other levels and

knowledge fields.

The national report of the CNWN is not only a report but is a mutual dialogue and

understanding with the women all over the world regarding knowledge. Focusing

on twelve concerns, builds the basis of this mutual dialogue according to agreements

made in the Beijing Platform of Action. However, the universal view of the

document, since it is reflecting the global agreements has remained at minimum

level and while it is comprehensive but not incompatible, considering the fact that

there are still issues that have not been discussed in this document. The issues that

have not been reflected, from eastern women’s point of view, especially Iranian

women (Global Women’s Movement) means ignoring moral values and measurable

outputs.

Women of the world, especially women in transitional societies have suffered a lot

which are the results of contradictions among individual, family and social roles but

the outputs of this situation not only creates exclusively instability in daily life and

relations but also confrontation of multiple identities on one hand and cultural contrasts

resulting from globalization have created new crisis for women where the

only way of escaping it is observing moralities and believing in religion.

We strongly insist that stabilization on multiple identities and addressing the serious

damages of the recent crisis coming from economic and cultural globalization can

come true by efforts inspired by the law of “Unity in Diversity” that is the natural

divine law. Cultural diversity needs independent identity to communicate with differences

but remain a defined identity. In this case the motto of think global, act

local will come true.

Iranian women’s experience in the recent years can prove the observation of “Unity

in Diversity”. During the last decades, active participation of Iranian women in

Islamic Revolution in 1979 caused many changes in the geopolitical situation of the

Islamic World and resulted in new action in creating links among multiple individual,

social and cultural roles. Also, heroic success of Iranian women in the “experience

identity of Iranian women. In all these successes the Iranian women proved that

they can involve religion and observe religious command in all social arenas and

moral unity has always been the core of their diverse activities and they have also

applied it in their daily life and created new acts and its effects (sediment) can be

traced in the amendments made to the laws, political, economic and social roles.

The national report of CNWN after ten years from Beijing conference is a tool to

present achievements, measures of the governments and NGOs, challenges and

constraints during the last years while, as mentioned above, crisis situation has been

dominating the religion. The crisis situations have influenced the achievements of

the women in the religion but at the same time provide opportunities for reinforcement

and survival of social movements and innovations and creativities to give a

new breath to Global Women’s Movement.

This report has been provided by the effort of CNWN members, experts, and

women’s society activists. There are different tile frameworks and all have reasonable

links and relations with each other.

?Different chapter are: the criteria taken into consideration in the content, introduction

(including background, Constitution, twenty-year vision, women’s charter),

present condition and achievements, Government’s actions, recommendation to the

NGOs and conclusion.

Criteria of the content: one of the main elements in development programs is

defining the values and criteria where visions originate and consist the spirit of the

program. Allocating the first chapter to values and criteria has been due to this

approach. Considering the fact that Iranian society is a religious one and the governing

system is based on Islamic governance and leadership of sanctity of

Jurisprudence, the dominating values and criteria are inspired by God’s Words (the

Holy Quran), tradition and approaches Infallibles. Defining these values and criteria

is to compare the existing situation with the ideal situation.

Introduction: introduction explains and demonstrates the historical and legal

changes. This is the reason that in the background the historical base and cultural

issues are discussed. The Constitution represents the general efforts of the leaders

of the country to achieve the objectives and twenty-year vision which was prepared

and defined by Supreme Leader of Revolution and it the final goal and pick to

reach. The Women’s Rights Charter, shows the general model of improvements in

women’s status in all arenas.

Present Conditions and Achievements: this part is the narrative report and is

based on extensive research of the groups that has prepared the following report.

Access to real and documented inputs have not been easy by NGOs, especially

where weakness of data banks makes information and input collection a real challenge.

So, the research team consisted of individuals who have been involved in the

issue and dominating it. This part was to show the outputs of government and

NGOs’ actions and is defined based on (quantitative or qualitative) statistics or

activities undertaken.

Government’s Actions: this part is a summary of the activities of different governmental

bodies who have reported or the information has been collected through

observations and interview with governmental authorities. It is worth mentioning

that most of the activities are based on development plans of the country but the

research group has divided them according to twelve pivots.

NGOs Activities: this part is based on analyzing the questionnaire distributed

among all active NGOs in field of women including 250 all over the country. NGOs

active in other fields or inactive women’s NGOs have not been the target groups of

these questionnaires. These activities have been analyzed according to twelve pivots

of the report and finally categorized into five groups according to institutional

activities: capacity building, services, resource mobilization, advocacy and communication

and are presented in diagrams.

CNWN activities: the activities of CNWN, although is at general and infrastructure

level, are analyzed and organized according to twelve concepts.

Fourth National Development Plan: every 5 year, the government should prepare

a four year national plan where women’s issues and programs have also been taken

into consideration. The topics of fourth national development plan are addressed

according to the twelve topics of the report.

Challenges and Constraints: includes problems that still exist although there have

been development measures to address it and the recommendations are based of

these challenges and constraints.

Recommendation to the Government and NGOs: these recommendations are

based on strategic plans of Beijing platform of action, presence of achievements and

government and NGOs’ activities, and the gap between the existing situation and

the ideal situation (vision of the Constitution) and fourth development plan of the

country.

Conclusion: is a summary definition of the gaps between achievements, government

and NGOs’ measures based on provisions of Beijing platform of action.

The formula has been generated based on the difference of inputs (achievements)

and outputs (measures/activities): achievements- measures/activities= challenges

and constraints.

The recommendations to the Government and NGOs is based on difference of the

expectations (vision and fourth national development plan) with challenges and

constraints: vision and fourth national development plan – Challenges =

Recommendations

*****

Finally we should thank all those involved in preparing the report, and it should be

stated that this report, sure, has shortcomings and there will be efforts to revise the

printed report, which will be available soon, both in Farsi and English.

1 This war started by the order of Saddam and stimulation and support of the US in the southern and

western borders of Iran and continued for 8 years and approximately five hundred thousand Iranians

were martyred and handicapped and six thousand women were martyred.