The travel ban and arrest of one woman made headlines around the world last month after a new video surfaced of Princess Latifa in captivity. She was banned from traveling and placed under house arrest by her own father, Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in 2018.
During the same month, the Iranian national women’s ski team left Tehran for Italy to participate in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships without its head coach, Samira Zargari, because Zargari’s husband barred her from leaving the country.
What the husband did is completely legal in Iran, and the team’s efforts to challenge his decision were fruitless. Officials involved also sought his permission but to no avail.
The common denominator between the two cases and many more that do not necessarily make headlines is the culture of patriarchy that exists in the region.
The law, which is put in place by men, only encourages and enforces discrimination against women.
Using the law to ban women from leaving the country is one of the worst things that can happen in modern Iran.
At a time when women are gaining a prominent presence in the public arena and have even assumed the post of vice president, husbands having this authority no longer has any logical and legal justification.
Imagine if the husband of Masoumeh Ebtekar, the current vice president of Iran for Women and Family Affairs, were to ban his wife from traveling overseas to represent Iran in international conferences. Legally he is permitted to do that.
The fact that he has not used this legal privilege is beside the point. The point is that this is a legal option for men in the first place, which is absurd. Thus, all Iranian women are at risk of being negatively affected both personally and professionally. The men are legally permitted to overstep boundaries and control individuals within the family, particularly the wives who are themselves mature adults — making for toxic family dynamics.
Resource of the story: Al Monitor
Please Consider to Pledge to Our Independent Peace Journalism.
Thank you.
Goltune is editorially independent. No one edits our editors. No one steers our opinion. This is important as it enables us to stay true to our values.
Every contribution we receive from readers like you, big or small, goes directly into funding our journalism. Please support Goltune, large or small. Thank you.
Thanks for helping us to fund our Peace Journalism. Here is our Square account: “Please help us to fund our peace Journalism.”
Send your contributions to our PayPal account: [email protected]
Or, contact us and let us know what we can do to deserve your support.