Individual Case (CAS) - Discussion: 2006, Publication: 95th ILC session (2006)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Iran (Islamic Republic of) (Ratification: 1964)

A Government representative stated that the population explosion of the early 1980s affected unemployment of both sexes. According to the latest figures released by Iran's Centre for Statistics, women's participation levels in universities stood at 65 per cent of university students, and women's unemployment rate was expected to decrease from 21.3 per cent in the year 2004 to 9.3 per cent by the end of 2009. The participation rate of women in employment in the meantime would increase from 12.94 per cent to 16.20 per cent. The Government hoped to fulfil its plan to curb women's unemployment through awareness raising and entrepreneurship courses for women. The latest figures on the economically active population in 2005 in different sectors of the economy showed 27.4 per cent of economically active women were employed in the industrial sector as compared to 29.8 per cent for men. In the services sector the rates stood at 33.3 per cent versus 45.2 per cent, respectively. Article 6 of the Women Employment Policies adopted in 1992 paved the way for appointing qualified and educated women to senior managerial and decision-making positions so as to redress previous imbalances at higher administrative levels. The prevailing imbalance in vertical and horizontal occupational opportunities and inequalities with respect to promotion and decision-making and management positions was being gradually redressed. The speaker stated that his country looked forward to ILO technical assistance on Women's entrepreneurship workshops to be held in July 2006 in Shiraz and Tehran that aimed at improving vocational training and employment of women in non-traditional skills and promoting women's entrepreneurship. In order to break away from traditional skills, many young women were presently attending vocational and technical courses. Furthermore, over the last seven years, the Police Department had been recruiting more than ten thousand women officers and office staff.

Regarding the Committee of Experts' comment on the High-level Tripartite National Women's Conference, he affirmed that his Government would submit the draft of the National Strategy for Promoting Women's Empowerment and Equality together with other reports regarding the social situation of women. In respect of eliminating discrimination against women in the labour market and in promoting equality of opportunity, the speaker noted that the Fourth Five-year Development Plan required the Government to further strengthen the role of women in society and promote their participation in the economy. The plan further called for strengthening women's skills in line with the needs of the labour market and technological development, identification and promotion of investment in job-generating sectors, and improving the quality of life for women and raising awareness on women's rights and gender issues.

As regarded the Committee of Experts' comments on the progress made in vocational training, education and non-traditional skills for women and young girls, the speaker pointed out that in 2005, around 160,000 women attended a variety of different technical courses. Women also comprised 73 per cent of the trainees in the non-government technical and vocational training centres in the same year. Women now comprised 34.01 per cent of the total government staff.

Turning to the question of section 1117 of the Civil Code under which a husband could bring a court action against his wife taking up a profession or job contrary to his wife's prestige, the Government representative stated that the Government would make every effort to amend the provision and would advise the Committee of any development in this respect in its next report. With respect to article 2 of the Bill proposed by the Judiciary to Parliament under which a female judge could issue verdicts provided that she was married and had more than six years of experience, the speaker informed the Committee that the existing legislation imposed the same requirements for the appointment of male judges as well.

Regarding the issue of compulsory dress code, he indicated that the Disciplinary Rules for University and Higher Education Institutes did not treat non-observance of dress code as a political and moral offence, and did not impose sanctions such as dismissal or permanent exclusion from universities as mentioned in the Committee of Experts' report. Moreover, observance of dress code was a practice on which there was consensus in the population.

With respect to the consultative revision process to ensure protection in law against discrimination in employment and occupation on the grounds of religion, he pointed to the Fourth Five-year Development Plan whose article 120 called for the formation of a council for policy dealing with recognized religious minorities affairs. He also mentioned the newly established High Commission on Human Rights which addressed among other things the violation of the rights of religious minorities. With regard to religious diversity in his country, the speaker stressed that persons of different religions held jobs in the government. Details on the number of persons from religious minorities receiving financial incentive through the employment-generation projects could not be supplied, as people were not asked to state their religion to benefit from these programmes.

In response to the concern expressed by the Committee of Experts on the employment of Baha'i, he pointed to the Fourth Five-year Development Plan which emphasized the promotion of equal civil rights. He further maintained that there were no restrictions for Baha'i in higher education or access to the labour market. Regarding the employment situation of ethnic minority groups, he recalled that the Constitution and the State Employment Act prohibited discrimination. There was presently a rainbow of ethnic minorities in the government and military. The Islamic Commission on Human Rights dealt with individual labour-related cases, including employment discrimination.

In conclusion, the speaker reiterated his Government's firm determination to continue dialogue and cooperation with the ILO in order to devise a common approach to dealing with the Committee of Experts' concern regarding employment discrimination.

The Employer members thanked the Government representative for the information he had provided but expressed their disappointment that this had not been supplied earlier to the Committee of Experts. They recalled that the protection afforded by Convention No. 111 applied not only to persons who had employment but expressly extended to possibilities of gaining employment and training. With regard to discrimination on the grounds of gender, the Employer members noted that the level of women's participation in the labour market remained low, and that the unemployment rate for women was twice as high as that for men, and rising. The low participation rate (2.5 per cent) of women in high-ranking positions was not acceptable. They noted that this case had been on the Committee's list previously, and it seemed that the Government's reports in the past had been more detailed and indicative of efforts to reduce discrimination. This was not the case of the report submitted this year. Little was known about what had happened in recent years in this case or if any of the positive measures mentioned in previous reports had come into effect. What was known was that the dress code for women and the imposition of sanctions in accordance with the Act on administrative infringements for violations of the code had in practice a negative impact on women's employment. The Employer members stressed that they were not against women dressing in a traditional manner, but opposed the fact that this was compulsory for women who wanted to work in the public sector. They also noted that section 1117 of the Civil Code was still in force, and that the Government had indicated it would change this rule. Furthermore, they expressed their opposition to Decree No. 55080 of 1979 on female judges, noting that it reduced women judges from a judicial to an administrative status and restricted them to hearing "female" cases. The Employer members noted that religious discrimination was a risk where one religion was established as the state religion. They noted with interest that the Government intended to revise the law regarding religious minorities' rights, and hoped that it would initiate a consultative revision process to ensure protection from religious discrimination. The ILO should be kept informed and the Government should provide information on the mandate and functions of the National Committee on the Protection of the Rights of Religious Minorities. They also observed that the situation of the Baha'i had not improved. They asked the Government to provide statistics on their situation. In conclusion, the Employers asked the Government to abolish laws that conflicted with Convention No. 111 and to develop legislation concerning non-discrimination.

The Worker members thanked the Government representative for his statement. However, they warned that those who were not familiar with the case and with the comments of the Committee of Experts over the years, and who had only read this year's report and listened to the statement by the Government representative, might have gained the mistaken impression that this very serious case was only confined to certain shortcomings, particularly with regard to the education, vocational training and employment of women, as well as a few difficulties relating to religious minorities, some of which were not recognized, and ethnic minorities. Without wishing to go too far into the past, the Worker members believed that it was however necessary to refer to certain events, with particular reference to a massacre that had occurred over 20 years ago when some 200 Baha'i had been executed, when there had been reports of terrible cases of discrimination, persecution and harassment. Although, as indicated by the Government representative, many of the Baha'i might well had been jewellers, goldsmiths and dairy producers at that time as they were today, in that period they had all been labelled as American spies. While the Baha'i were a non-recognized religious minority, even recognized minorities, such as the Jews, had also suffered terribly some years ago, as attested by United Nations bodies. The Worker members, recalling that the Government had for many years adopted a hostile and threatening tone when discussing this case, expressed gratitude at its more open attitude in more recent years. Nevertheless, upon closer examination, and despite the by and large positive picture painted by the Government representative, the positive aspects to which he had referred were not at all in balance with the issues raised by the Committee of Experts. On the positive side, the Government representative had described in detail a series of programmes, projects, courses and meetings. Appreciation should therefore be expressed of what had been done, particularly in relation to the education, vocational training and employment of women. While these measures were all of great importance in order to promote a more favourable climate, they tended to obscure the fact that very little had been done in other and more crucial areas, including the amendment of the legislation, as called for by the Committee of Experts. Moreover, many serious problems also remained in practice. Although there were many more women who were educated than in the past, jobs were not always available for them. Clearly, it was a difficult situation when there was a large reservoir of well-educated women who could not find work.

Certain long-standing issues still needed to be addressed. Under section 1117 of the Civil Code, a husband could still bring a court action to object to his wife taking up a specific profession or job. Even though the Protection of the Family Act of 1975 gave similar rights to women in this respect with regard to their husbands, this meant that there was a discrepancy between these provisions that was confusing but which would be relatively easy to rectify. The Government had stated on many occasions that it wanted to achieve progress. The question therefore arose as to why issues like this remained unsolved. The same applied in relation to the dress code. A reference had been made to draft legislation being submitted to Parliament, but there had been no further news. The situation was the same with the Bill proposed to Parliament by the judiciary concerning female judges. The fact that no action had been taken on a whole series of issues raised by the Committee of Experts for many years undermined the credibility of the Government's claims and promises. The Worker members therefore called upon the Government to take the ILO supervisory bodies seriously and finally to take firm action. Moreover, it should provide the statistics requested by the Committee of Experts so that the situation could be assessed objectively. With regard to the rights of the non-recognized religious minorities, and particularly the Baha'i, and ethnic minorities, although on the basis of the statement by the Government representative and the reports of the Committee of Experts nothing appeared to have changed to the negative, reports from other sources suggested that their situation might well be deteriorating. Citing articles in the international press, the Worker members noted reports that Government newspapers had published articles denouncing persons of the Baha'i faith and accusing them of barbarous practices, mass arrests and detentions, etc. Such reports were in stark contrast to the description of the general attitude in the Islamic Republic of Iran vis-à-vis the Baha'i given by the Government representative and raised the question as to what the situation really was in practice. The Worker members further noted comments by the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights expressing concern about the treatment of minorities in the country. Explanations were therefore needed to account for the discrepancies between these various statements. There was a real danger that the existence of stereotyped attitudes for which in many cases the Government itself was fully responsible, was preventing progress in improving law and practice in the country. The Government should spend intensive attention and take determined action here. Moreover, the Worker members were gaining the general impression that, while the Government had shown a certain willingness to take action in the past, as illustrated by many activities including various draft legislative texts that had been formulated, it had now run out off steam and no further progress was being made. They therefore called on the Government to make a renewed effort to fulfil the promises that had been made in the past. As the issues had been discussed for many years, it was necessary to achieve progress rapidly. They therefore proposed that the Government should make a commitment to fulfilling the recommendations of the Committee of Experts by 2010. Its next report to the Committee of Experts could therefore take the form of an interim report on the progress achieved towards this end.

The Government member of Cuba stated that she appreciated the efforts made by the Government and its positive initiatives to improve women's access to education, training and employment, in particular the incorporation of the National Strategy for Promoting Women's Employment, Empowerment and Equality into the Socio-Economic and Cultural Development Plan, which the Committee of Experts had noted with satisfaction in paragraph 2 of its observation. The observation of the Committee of Experts also noted a 65 per cent participation rate for women in the field of education and vocational training in universities, a rate that was increasing rapidly, which showed that the measures adopted were producing positive results. With the willingness expressed by the Government to accept ILO technical assistance, further progress would gradually be achieved in other areas where action had been taken, including in relation to ethnic and religious minorities and in the legislative reforms the Government had considered submitting to Parliament. The Government had also provided considerable data which showed that the participation rate of women in the various government bodies had increased. The speaker added that, where ancestral rules and traditions played an important role in social organization, laws and administrative measures did not achieve immediate results unless they were combined with the dissemination of positive experiences and public awareness, as a more effective way of achieving the objectives. She therefore thanked the Government representative once again for the efforts to promote social equality and said that, in her view, the first criterion in the Conference Committee's conclusions should be to express support for the measures taken to gradually achieve the desired results.

The Worker member of Pakistan stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran was an important country in Asia and the next brotherly nation of Pakistan. It had ratified the fundamental ILO Convention No. 111 and the Committee of Experts had made concrete recommendations to eliminate discrimination in practice with respect to gender and ethnic minorities. It had asked the Government to provide further information on the measures taken to improve the situation in law and practice. He supported the call made by the Worker members to the Government to remedy the situation, as urged by the Committee of Experts in paragraphs 1 to 12 of its observation. He had also listened with interest to the Government representative who had reported some positive developments such as the holding of a national conference in collaboration with the ILO, which had adopted a National Strategy for Promoting Women's Employment, Empowerment and Equality into the Socio-Economic and Cultural Development Plan. Paragraphs 2, 4 and 12 of the Committee of Experts' observation had also noted the efforts made in relation to the access of women to employment and vocational training and the positive action the Government had taken in the past to promote equality in employment and occupation. However, the Committee of Experts had also requested that the Government made further efforts to implement the recommendations that had been made to and to provide up-to-date information on the concrete results achieved, as requested in paragraphs 2 to 8 of the observation. With respect to ethnic minorities, the Government was urged to bring the law and practice into conformity with the Convention and to implement the recommendations made by the Committee of Experts. He urged the Government to implement the measures that it presented to this Committee in conformity with the Convention, and in the wider interest of progress and the well-being of the Iranian society.

The Government member of Pakistan indicated that he had taken careful note of the statement made by the Government representative on the measures taken to address the points raised in the Committee of Experts' observation. He had also listened carefully to the remarks of the two social partners. He expressed the view that, in drawing up its conclusions, the Conference Committee could take into consideration the significant achievements of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in ensuring adequate gender representation in many spheres of life. Moreover, the Government had submitted many draft laws, which were before Parliament. He added that women were not only actively engaged in the economic and social fields, but were also well represented in the Iranian Parliament and in the different branches of the Government. The presence of a significant number of Iranian women delegates to the present session of the International Labour Conference was a further indication of the desire to ensure proper gender representation. He reiterated his belief that the Government was making earnest efforts to overcome the problems raised in the observation of the Committee of Experts, through a consultative process which involved all the social partners. All of these elements of progress should be taken into account by the Committee.

The Government member of Bangladesh stated that the local circumstances and the reality in the Islamic Republic of Iran should be taken fully into consideration when discussing the case. He noted the commendable success made by the Government in improving the role of women in employment and occupation. Moreover, the Government had provided disaggregated statistics on women's education, employment, training and participation in information and communication technology, in line with the observation of the Committee of Experts. Taking into consideration the dialogue between the Government and the ILO, impressive progress had been made. He was therefore of the view that the Conference Committee should express its appreciation of these developments, and reiterated that, in light of the above information, the Islamic Republic of Iran should be given adequate time to achieve full compliance with the Convention.

The Government representative thanked the various speakers, including those Government members who had recognized the earnest efforts that were being made by his Government to promote the implementation of international labour standards. He called on the Committee to focus on the future, setting aside the past, and to engage in an open and constructive dialogue focusing on commonalities rather than what could divide the members. He expressed the view that the issue on the Baha'i faith was not a matter of discrimination, but of distinction. Furthermore, he regarded the unexpected discussion of the case as an opportunity to provide information on what was being achieved in his country. The Government was ready to provide the additional information requested by the Committee of Experts, including the measures taken or envisaged in this regard, along with information on the issues concerning women. Certain members of the Committee had given the impression in their statements that the situation was problematic for all religious and ethnic minorities, but he expressed the view that issues relating to religious and ethnic minorities had not been, were not and would not be a problem in his country. Concerning section 1117 of the Civil Code, which permitted a husband to bring a case to court if he objected to his wife taking a job contrary to the interest of the family or to his wife's prestige, he indicated that in practice it was extremely seldom that complaints were filed with the courts on the issue. He also stated that the judiciary would be very strict on this matter and indicated the Government's readiness to provide information on cases in which courts had rejected men's appeals in this regard. With regard to women's employment, he stated that it was indeed a matter of great concern, with particular reference to the higher unemployment rate amongst women than men. He added that the employment situation was aggravated by the fact that there were currently 2,700,000 migrant workers in the country and that the population was doubling every 20 years. Although everything possible was being done, this was a situation that would give rise to difficulties for any country. To address this issue, the Government was assisting in the voluntary expatriation of such migrant workers in collaboration with concerned agencies, such as the UNHCR. This expatriation was carried out in a friendly and peaceful manner and in accordance with humanitarian principles. In relation to the situation of women, he indicated that there were many women in universities. The percentage of women in different faculties of universities was as follows: 56 per cent in humanities; 70 per cent in sciences; 33.2 per cent in agriculture; 71.5 per cent in medical sciences; and 69 per cent in the arts. His country was therefore doing its best to improve the situation of women, particularly by improving their vocational skills. These facts were a token of the solidarity among the peoples in the country. The Islamic Republic of Iran was like a Persian carpet, comprising different elements woven together with a common thread. He concluded by expressing his Government's firm determination to make every effort to bring its legislation into conformity with ILO Conventions, fully in line with the demand of the Worker members that this should be done before the year 2010.

The Employer members thanked the Government representative for the additional information provided and recalled that the case had been discussed by the Committee for more than 20 years. While the tone of the statements by the Government representative was positive, the actual improvements were very slow. The Committee of Experts had requested the Government to supply more specific information, but such information had not been provided and no indication had been given as to when it would be communicated. They therefore urged the Government to supply specific information, including the necessary statistics as soon as possible. They recalled that the employment rate of women was still very low and their unemployment rate was twice as high as that of men. The Government did not recognize that all women might not wish to follow a dress code that was laid down by the law. Moreover, even if that legal provision was not applied, the very fact that it existed had a huge symbolic effect. They therefore urged the Government to resolve these substantive issues in law and practice. They added that they hoped to see changes immediately, because discrimination had been ongoing for many years and there could no longer be any excuses.

The Worker members observed that, while metaphors were very useful, they could hide meaning as well, just as beautifully woven cloth could be used to conceal the facts and a rock could be a credible symbol of immobility. The principal aspect of the present case was that it was necessary to establish priorities for cooperation so that real progress could be made as soon as possible. In that respect, the reply by the Government representative had contained an interesting comment on a matter raised by the Committee of Experts. The Government representative had explained that, with regard to section 1117 of the Civil Code, which allowed a husband to take court action to prevent his wife from taking up a profession or job, there were very few cases of its implementation in practice. This statement was deceptive, as the very existence of such a provision was a violation of the Convention. The same applied to what had been said about the dress code. Although the Government representative had indicated that there were no sanctions for violations of the dress code, the mere fact that such a provision was contained in the legislation was in contravention of the Convention. Such provisions should therefore be removed from the legislation, so that the relevant legal provisions were consistent, clear and in conformity with the Convention. In view of the commitment expressed by the Government representative to spare no effort to bring the relevant laws into line with the Convention, the Worker members called on the Government to ensure that the next report to be submitted to the Committee of Experts, which could be examined by the Conference Committee in 2008, took the form of an interim report on the progress that had been made in parliament as regarded concrete changes in law and practice. Furthermore, with regard to the matters raised by the Committee of Experts, on which the Government representative had not provided replies, they called on the Government to respond in writing to the Committee of Experts. They hoped that the conclusions of the Conference Committee would recognize the positive steps taken by the Government to create the appropriate conditions to address the problems under discussion, particularly those related to gender issues. While recognizing and welcoming such action, the conclusions should stress the important measures that still needed to be taken to bring the law and practice in the country fully into line with the Convention in relation to all the aspects raised by the Committee of Experts. The conclusions should also note the serious problems affecting certain minorities, with particular reference to the non-recognized religious minorities, such as the Baha'i. The conclusions should also urge the Government to take action to address urgently the problem of stereotyped attitudes, which were at the root of many of the problems under discussion.

The Committee noted the statement of the Government representative and the ensuing discussion. The Committee noted the information and statistics provided by the Government, particularly concerning the participation of women in employment, higher education and vocational training, and its expression of commitment to eliminate discrimination against women. The Committee recognized the measures that had been taken to create conditions to increase women's participation in the labour market. However, the Committee expressed serious concern that a number of issues that it had been raising for many years remained unresolved.

The Committee regretted to note that no progress had been made in amending or repealing legislation that was contrary to the Convention. It urged the Government to ensure that the laws and regulations restricting women's employment, including regarding the role of female judges, the obligatory dress code, the right of a husband to object to his wife taking up a profession or job, and the application of social security legislation regarding women, would be brought into conformity with the Convention without delay. The Committee also expressed continued concern regarding discrimination against members of recognized and unrecognized religious minorities and ethnic minorities. The Committee noted that discrimination against Baha'i remained particularly serious. The Committee stressed the need for the Government to take decisive action to combat stereotypical attitudes underlying discriminatory practices.

The Committee recalled the need to demonstrate that statements of commitment were translated into concrete action and results. The Committee urged the Government to take the necessary measures to bring its law and practice fully into conformity with the Convention. It also requested the Government to provide detailed information, including statistics disaggregated by sex, in its next report to the Committee of Experts on concrete steps taken and results achieved. The Committee noted the Government's commitment to constructive dialogue and to intensifying its cooperation with the ILO. It welcomed the firm commitment given by the Government to take all appropriate measures, and in particular to bring all its relevant legislation and practice into line with the Convention by no later than 2010. The Committee requested the Government to provide a mid-term assessment of these steps in its next report. The Committee further requested that resulting technical assistance address all the pending issues concerning the application of the Convention.