Iranian parliamentarians have approved the general outlines of a draft bill designed to safeguard the dignity of Iranian women and protect them against violence and abuse.
The Social Commission’s report on the bill was reviewed and approved by the legislators in an open session of Parliament in the capital city on Sunday,
Lawmakers approved the single-urgency bill called “Protection, Dignity, and Security of Women against Violence” with 190 votes in favor, 45 votes against, and 9 abstentions.
The legislation has been in the works since 2011 and underwent its lengthy review process by the judiciary in 2019. A version of the legislation had been fast-tracked in parliament in May 2021.
“Members of the Social Commission have had many discussions and exchanged views in meetings with officials from various bodies specializing in women issues to complete this bill,” Fatemeh Ghasempour, head of the women and family faction of Majlis, said before the vote.
The legislation boasts a three-pronged approach to protecting women against violence and abuse, Ghasempour noted. “All three preventive, protective, and penal aspects of the issue have been addressed in this bill,” she added.
It criminalizes any act or behavior that causes “physical or mental harm” to women “as a vulnerable gender,” or “deprives them of their legal rights and freedoms.”
Irna News