The Family Law Culture War

This chapter traces the political battles lost or won over laws governing women. It starts with the efforts of Monireh GorjiGorji, Monireh, the only woman in the 73-member committee to draft the Islamic Republic’s constitution. Then it follows the political battles waged by female representatives in Iran’s parliament, reporting their many minor victories in areas such as child custody, child support, restrictions on polygamy, daycare for children, divorce laws, or raising the minimum age for marriagemarriagecalls for legal reform. It also details the blowback from conservatives, which from 2004 largely blocked progressives from even running for office. The chapter features Shirin Ebadi’sEbadi, Shirinobservations by partly successful struggles to challenge abusive family laws through the courts, the nationwide Million Signatures campaign for gender equality, and online activism in “feminist weblogistan.”