Tehran, June 27, IRNA – Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs Massoumeh Ebtekar said Iran has been engaged in gender mainstreaming and development plans in various levels for many years.
Ebtekar made the remarks in the International Workshop on Gender Mainstreaming co-hosted by the Iranian and Swedish sides.
‘The issue of gender mainstreaming is of the great significance in all countries and we are pleased that Iran, for years, has been engaged in this issue,’ she added.
Ebtekar reiterated that the this issue is based on the programming and we have made some advancement in this section, women empowerment in particular, after Iran 1979 Revolution.
During the presidency of late Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani the plans for empovering women was presented, she said, underlining that Iran has been able to put the gender equity in the Sixth National Development Plan.
She underlined that the concept of fairness and justice in Islam and the holy Quran also emphasizes human dignity and gender fairness and equity.
‘Islam considers equal status of men and women. The religious foundation helps us a lot in the gender equity,’ Ebtekar added.
She reiterated that fortunately the Sixth National Development Plan pays due consideration to the issue of gender mainstreaming.
Ebtekar stressed that the issue of gender mainstreaming is also one of the main articles of the constriction in the Islamic Republic of Iran, even though there is some obstacles and challenges, including the challenges of culture to the women equity and gender equality.
‘In spite of these challenges we are trying to provide equal access for women. Justice and equity is not only about the economy, but also it is about access to power, about enjoying of equal opportunity, health, education, employment and economy.’
In major indexes such as life expediency for ladies in the Iranian society is four years greater than men and after the Islamic Revolution in the 1979 until today the life expediency for women has been increased by 25 years, Ebtekar added.
Women have equal access to health and education, she said, adding that the literacy rate was 35 percent in 1979.
Ebtekar noted that today this figure is about 88 percent of which 27 percent is allocated to the female university graduates.
She added that the Iranian women play a leading role in the society and have managed to make a lot of accomplishment.
Pointing to the progress of women in sports fields, she said the ladies have managed to snatch several world medals in different arenas and the latest one is championship of Iranian women futsal in Asia.
The day-long International Workshop on Gender Mainstreaming held in Tehran on Monday attended by Iran’s President Assistant for Citizens’ Rights Affairs Shahindokht Molaverdi and a Swedish delegation headed by the country’s ambassador to Iran Helena Sangeland.
Source:Irna