Woman in Development and Politics
Year:2005 | Volume:3 | Issue:1|Papers Count:8

The Iranian Civil Code, especially those relating to family laws, is mainly based on the prevailing opinions of Shiite jurisprudence (without considering other views and evaluating their strength). As a result, in some cases, unfair and discriminatory laws have been enacted. For instance, under Article 1122 of the Civil Code, some diseases like Black Leprosy and Vitiligo of women have been regarded as an initiative to terminate marriage for men but such a right has not given to women if the husband suffers from such diseases. It seems that such discriminations have no justification and persuasive support in Shiite jurisprudence. For this purpose, this essay tries to review and criticize the prevailing opinions in the jurisprudence regarding the rights given either to men or women in respect of terminating marriage based on their spouse's disease. In this essay, the opposite views regarding this issue in jurisprudence will also be clarified and evaluated.

Marriage patterns are different between countries and even among different ethnic groups within countries. Such differences are determined by both ethnic-cultural factors as well as socio-economic ones. The present paper uses the data from the 1991 Household Socio- Economic Characteristics to examine marriage patterns among ethnic groups in Iran, to identify the impact of ethnicity on these patterns. The results indicate that there are distinct marriage patterns among ethnic groups in Iran. Various analyses also show that after controlling socio-economic and demographic factors, ethnic differences in marriage patterns remain in the model. In other words, ethnicity has an independent role in the explanation of ethnic differentials in marriage patterns. The result of research shows that though ethnic norms and values are important and influensive in patterns of marriage but some other factors such as modernization and socio-economic determinants have also been important, too. Anthropological-demographic studies using qualitative methods can provide a deeper understanding on the impacts of ethnic norms, values and practices on marriage patterns and family in Iran.

Although some would consider the co-dependency as pathological phenomena, but some feminists criticize this idea and they would argue that it is built within the social structure. In this study, gender roles have been compared and examined. The methods of the research is causal-comparative. The sample of 174 educated married women is entered in this study. The research shows that there is a significant difference between women with androgenic and feminine characteristics.

Using quantitative and qualitative methods, this article investigates an increase in number of women in higher education. The paper suggests that after the Iranian Revolution (1979), the number of women in higher education has increased substantially. Then, the convergence Of women's social demand for higher education based on the generalized growing model of Solo-Swan and Pooling technique, is examined in various provinces of the country between" 1984-2003". In general, the appraisal of convergent model for women (1984-2003), indicates that the convergence, concerning women's social demand for higher education has not occurred among the various provinces of Iran. Therefore, the hypothesis is considered for two periods of ten years, from 1984 to 1993 and 1994 to 2003. The analysis implies that women's social demand for higher education at two periods have converged in various provinces. The assessment reveals that women and men convergent pace are different, so that the convergent pace of women's demand for higher education has been more than men at two given periods of time, and it shows that the convergence in social demand for higher education varies between men and women.

In recent years, women entrepreneurship has developed universally and has been a concern throughout the world. Many researchers believe that the activities of female entrepreneurs have  had a productive role on the economy. Women's economic activities constitute 25 to 35 percent of world's economic activities. Women's desire for entrepreneurship activities is the result of some factors such as unemployment, low income and job dissatisfaction. Identifying these factors enable us to develop entrepreneurship activities of women. The present article tries to find a model to explain and define the women's entrepreneurship. In this study, data is collected by using a questionnaire and interview technique, 139 Iranian female entrepreneurs entered in this study.

Micro credits can play a significant role in supplying necessary funds for employment of rural women, supporting small rural industries, creating new job opportunities and preventing rural migration. This research tries to assess the effects of micro credits which is paid to rural women of Zanjan province. The study applies descriptive survey research. The questionnaire and interview techniques are used for data collection in this study. The statistical population consists of rural women that have got micro credit from Agricultural Bank of Iran during the past 5 years in province of Zanjan, Iran (N=61). The results of the study show that women use the credits for the purpose of animal production, horticulture, farming, the costs of their children's education, buying furniture, food stuffs, clothes, medicine and handmade industry. The paid credits have the most impact and strong motivation on women regarding their abilities, increasing life management skills, increasing their self- confidences and inform rural women about their potential abilities and improving status of women in family.

The purpose of this article is to identify the potential and actual abilities of rural women living in three northern provinces of Iran (Golestan, Gillan and Mazandaran). The research is an applied one, using descriptive and survey methods. The sample population is 1382 women, over 10 years old. Data is collected by using a semi-structured questionnaire and interview. Women were asked to list their jobs and one of the main indicators which are applied to show their abilities is their income. The results indicate that although these women are active in agriculture, animal husbandry, handicrafts and services in rural areas of Iran, but they do not receive much training and they have learned their income generation jobs.