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A mother and child wait during a divorce proceeding in Iran. (Screencap: realstoriesdocs)
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Around the world, people today are commemorating International Women’s Day. However, this important day is not celebrated in the Islamic Republic of Iran today. Instead, Iranians celebrate Women’s Day on January 13th, the birthday of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammed, who was married off at age 9 and became a mother of five children. In the eyes of the mullahs of Tehran, Fatima, a pious woman, should be the role model of all women, as they want women to be subordinate, submissive and hardly visible to the public.
However, even though Azerbaijan is a Shia country, who also holds Fatima dear to heart as an important woman in Shia Islamic history, Azerbaijanis do celebrate International Women’s Day today and traditionally congratulate all women on this day, as their view on women is more modern than that of their eastern neighbor.
For this reason, International Women’s Day is not Fatima’s birthday for them, but rather the day where the rest of the world celebrates International Women’s Day. This is because Azerbaijan is light years ahead of Iran when it comes to women’s rights.
While the Islamic Republic of Iran murdered 22-year-old Mahsa Amini and countless other girls for the crime of not wearing their hijab properly, which has sparked a massive protest movement in the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is quite normal in Azerbaijan for women to walk around wearing Western dress with their hair fully exposed and blowing in the wind. In Azerbaijan, a woman can choose whether she wants to wear a hijab or not, and her opinion is respected. Usually, most Azerbaijani women only don hijab when they enter a mosque and do not wear one the rest of the time.
While only six percent of the Iranian Parliament is female, thus depriving women from having much of a voice in Iran’s political future, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has such a high esteem of women that he decided to make his wife the First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva also the Vice President of the State of Azerbaijan. The head of the Azerbaijani Parliament Sahiba Gafarova is also a woman. In total, 18% of the Azerbaijani Parliament is female, which is a much higher percentage than what exists in neighboring Iran.
Last December, Iran was removed from the UN Commission on Women by a majority of 29, with only 8 members voting against and 16 abstaining. This came after the UN released a report describing Iranian women and girls as treated “like second class citizens,” due to the widespread child marriage of girls between age 10 and 14, weak protections against domestic violence and the lack of legal autonomy for women.
For example, in Iran, it is legal for a man to marry up to four women, but a woman can only marry one man. A woman must have her male guardian’s permission to marry, either from her father or grandfather, but a man does not need to ask anyone’s permission to marry.
A married woman cannot travel outside of Iran without her husband’s permission, but a married man can go wherever he desires under Iranian law. Under Iranian law, a divorced woman forfeits the custody of her child if she remarries, even if her ex-husband is dead, but not a divorced man. And in Iran, a widow only inherits one eighth of her husband’s estate, but a widower inherits his late wife’s entire estate. These are but a few examples of the gender apartheid that exists in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
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In Azerbaijan, polygamy is legally forbidden. Furthermore, a woman does not need to seek the permission of her guardian in order to marry or travel outside of Azerbaijan. When a divorce takes place in Azerbaijan, children under age 10 always stay with the mother, even if she remarries. If a child is over age 10, the child can choose which parent they seek to live with. Never does a woman forfeit her right to her child in Azerbaijan by being divorced and deciding to remarry. And a widow can inherit much more than 8% of her late husband’s estate. Thus, Azerbaijan is light years ahead of the Islamic Republic of Iran when it comes to women’s rights.
On this International Women’s Day, Azerbaijan’s Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva proclaimed, “I wish every woman robust health, endless love, joyful days and happiness.”
I wish for Iranian women to no longer live under the tyranny of the mullahs in Tehran and for this horrific regime to fall. I hope and pray for the establishment of a free South Azerbaijan, so that this terrible barbaric regime which mistreats women will face justice for their crimes against humanity.
Rachel Avraham is the CEO of the Dona Gracia Center for Diplomacy and an Israel-based journalist. She is the author of “Women and Jihad: Debating Palestinian Female Suicide Bombings in the American, Israeli and Arab Media.”
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Thank you for choosing TheJ.Ca as your source for Canadian Jewish News.
We do news differently!
Our positioning as a Zionist News Media platform sets us apart from the rest. While other Canadian Jewish media are advocating increasingly biased progressive political and social agendas, TheJ.Ca is providing more and more readers with a welcome alternative and an ideological home.
We revealed the incursion of anti-Israel progressive elements such as IfNotNow into our communities. We have exposed the distorted hateful agenda of the “progressive” left political radicals who brought Linda Sarsour to our cities, and we were first to report on many disturbing incidents of Nazi-based hate towards Jews across Canada.
But we can’t do it alone. We need your HELP!
Our ability to thrive and grow in 2020 and beyond depends on the generosity of committed readers and supporters like you.
Monthly support is a great way to help us sustain our operations. We greatly appreciate any contributions you can make to support Jewish Journalism.
We thank you for your ongoing support.
Happy reading!
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