Omid Memarian
o.memarian@roozonline.com

The founder of the Center for Defense of Human Rights and 2003 Nobel Peace winner, Shirin Ebadi asserted in an exclusive interview with Rooz that the passage of a proposed “Family Support” legislation would create political tension across the nation.

Commenting on the proposed legislation, Ebadi said, “According to this legislation, men are not required to obtain their wives’ permission to marry a second or third woman, and this will cause a great deal of tension in society.” From Ebadi’s perspective, the proposed legislation has been introduced tastelessly and at the worst possible time: “In these tumultuous times, instead of trying to consolidate national unity by solving people’s problems, they have intensified divisions by introducing controversial legislation.”

When asked whether women were consulted in drafting the legislation, Ebadi responded, “I think that they did not consult any women’s organization, because had they done so we would not have seen such a bill. The proposed legislation requires men to demonstrate only that they are able to treat their multiple wives in a just and equal manner. But how can a man prove to the court, in advance, that he will treat his multiple wives justly? This means that justice is completely ignored in this picture. The proposed legislation is only a gift to wealthy men who want to legalize their infidelity.”

Ebadi added, “In reality, the relationship between law and culture is that the law must always be a step above culture in order to pull culture up and enrich it. Polygamy is among the issues that is not well looked upon in Iranian culture. Lawmakers who want to pass this legislation must ask themselves, how would they feel if their daughter returns home one day and said that her husband had married a second woman? I ask lawmakers and judiciary officials not to legalize behavior that they would not want for their own families.”

In Ebadi’s view, the roots of this legislation must be found in Iran’s paternalistic culture: “This issue must be analyzed from the point of view of Iran's paternalistic culture. People that adhere to this culture view women as an object that belongs to her father and husband, and draft legislation based on this presumption. As long as such views are prevalent among Iranian policy makers, we must not expect any improvement in the condition of women.”

The 2003 Nobel Peace winner added, “Lawmakers must, in first place, be representatives of the people. Because of our screening laws, I say with confidence that many lawmakers that occupy seats in the Majlis are not true representatives of the people. People are not able to elect true representatives because of screening laws. Another point is that elected lawmakers must be aware of issues facing society, and this does not apply to many lawmakers either. Before being discussed on the Majlis floor, draft legislation must be examined by professionals. This process is not followed in the Iranian Majlis, particularly when in it comes to laws that deal with women’s issues.”