Progress Amid Resistance

IRAN 147F All political parties should establish a quota system under whichwomen would account for 30 percent of their candidates.F The government of Iran should uphold women’s rights to freedom ofassembly and political participation in the process of reform towardnonviolent and egalitarian laws and policies.F Government filtering of the websites of women’s rights groups shouldbe stopped.F The government should restore the license and free operation of Zananmagazine and other independent media outlets so that women have abalanced, objective, and open platform for dialogue regarding genderissues.F Women’s NGOs and women who are active in political parties shouldoffer workshops and training programs—especially for high schoolgirls—on successful debating and public speaking skills, leadershipand organizational skills, managing political campaigns, and demandcenteredcoalition building.SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTSDespite many cultural, political, and legal restrictions, women in Iranhave a visible presence in contemporary literature, poetry, art, and cinema.A number of best-selling books and award-winning movies are thecreations of female writers and directors. Women’s health indicators havealso improved considerably. A marked decline in the fertility rate has beenassociated with gains in women’s literacy rates and overall health status.Yet the stresses stemming from economic hardship and increased politicalrepression in the last five years have negatively affected psychological wellbeingand cultural productivity, including of women activists.Health care for women has improved over the past few decades, andwomen activists have played a remarkable role through their voluntaryand NGO activism in different parts of Iran. 75 Today, women have reasonableaccess to family planning methods, which has helped reduce thefertility rate from 6.0 births per woman in 1986 to 2.0 in 2005. Therehas also been an expansion of primary health care networks, an overallincrease in life expectancy, and a more than 50 percent decrease inchild mortality rates, which has also reduced the motivation for multiplebirths. All these seem to correlate with an increase in the literacy rate