Iranian and Saudi Arabian Women's Rights
Iranian and Saudi Arabian women both experience social, political, and economic discrimination. In Iraq, women have had the right to vote since 1963, while in Saudi Arabia, women have been able to vote in municipal elections since 2015. (Powell 21).
Marriage Laws
No matter their age, women in both nations need the approval of a male judge or guardian to get married. Additionally, both countries do not forbid child marriage, allowing a youngster as young as 10 to wed according to Shari law (Amirpur 17).
Dress Code
In public, women must wear attire that conceals their beauty and refrains from baring their faces and other body parts (Quamar 23). In Iran, women serve in the parliament and are represented in high positions in the administration ministries whereas women's roles in the Saudi government are limited (Abbasi-Shavazi and Sadeghi 31).
Driving and Workplace
Women driving in Saudi Arabia is not allowed because it is believed to cause adverse consequences and evil, while in Iran, women are permitted to drive. Women in Iran can work in all facilities, but in Saudi Arabia, they are required to work in separate facilities from male employees (Annemarie 22).
Dressing Code
The Iranian government does not have a clear definition of the correct dressing code for women, but Saudi Arabia laws enforce the Islamic custom of wearing the abaya and covering their hair with a scarf in public (Chamlou 31).
Movements
In Iran, the women's rights movement had dissolved but later heightened after the revolution, making it successful when females were allowed to vote in 1963 (Muftah 22). Other movements that have succeeded in Iran include the right for education and women's participation in sports. In Saudi Arabia, the women to drive movement had failed, while women to vote succeeded in 2015 (Quamar 21). However, the movement for girl child education has succeeded, but participation in sports has failed.
Works Cited
Abbasi-Shavazi, Mohammad Jalal, and Rasoul Sadeghi. “Socio-Cultural Adaptation of Second-Generation Afghans in Iran.” IMIG International Migration 53.6 (2015): 89–110. Print.
Amirpur, Katajun. “Women’s Problems as a ‘Women’s Only’ Problem? Debates on Gender and Democracy in Iran.” (2016): 41. Print.
Annemarie, van Geel. “Separate or Together? Women-Only Public Spaces and Participation of Saudi Women in the Public Domain in Saudi Arabia.” Cont Islam Contemporary Islam : Dynamics of Muslim Life 10.3 (2016): 27. Print.
Chamlou, Nadereh. “Gender Inequality and Income Inequality in Iran.” (2016): 37. Print.
Muftah. “Are Human Rights in Iran Getting Worse for Baha’is?” Muftah (2016): 33. Print.
Powell, Catherine. “Women’s Rights in Saudi Arabia After King Abdullah.” Development Channel (2015): 29. Print.
Quamar, Md. Muddassir. “Sociology of the Veil in Saudi Arabia: Dress Code, Individual Choices, and Questions on Women’s Empowerment.” DOME Digest of Middle East Studies 25.2 (2016): 315–337. Print.
