نشریه زن در توسعه و سیاست
سال یکم شماره 3 (بهار 1381)

In this article generational attitudes towards gender issue in three generation young, middle age, and elders have been studied and the objective is to answer following questions: 1. Are there differences in attitudes towards women between generations? 2. Are the attitudes’ differences between rural and urban communities similar? 3. Do men and women have different attitudes toward women? Analysis of data from a survey research with interview technique in the capital city of Tehran and Kashan shows statistically meaningful differences regarding attitudes towards women between generations, urban and rural resident, and men women.

Studies on wife abuse show that men committed violence behavior against their wives have experienced a high degree of violence in their childhood. Children who have witnessed, their mothers being beaten in their adulthood; girls have tendency to tolerate the violence and boys perceive the abuse of wife as their right. The aim of the present article to study wife abuse and contributing factors in Iran. Data gathered through a random sample of 180 women in two groups: (1) women who were beaten by their spouse and after complaint were referred to legal medicine and (2) women who were referred to the physician for other reasons. Two groups were compared on the age, job, education, and prior marriage. On these variables there was no significant difference between the two groups. But in variables concerning men’s childhood, number of wives and criminal acts, two groups were significantly different. The most important factor affecting wife abuse is cultural. Men who in their socialization process have seen their mother is beaten in the family, or those who have more than one wife or/ and drug addicts have a higher tendency to violence against women.

Women are faced with violence in the private sphere (by their father, husband) and in the society (public sphere). Regarding irretrievable impacts of violence on women and society, governments have not considered the matter seriously. The objective of this article is to present research findings on disguised violence that is violence in the family (domestic violence) which for many reasons are not reported. This research is conducted in Shahre Kord (in west of Iran) with 162 married couples in the year of 2001. Variables such as employment status, educational level, relations before marriage type of marriage (decided by others or on their own), men’s authority, age differences and others intervention (men’s or women’s relatives) have been analyzed. The most significant variable related to violence against women is men’s hegemony and authority in the family.

This article discusses the role of time and location in jurisprudence, its’ impacts on the changes of jurisprudent’s opinions and it’s relation with women’s rights. Time and location are two important factors in these processes. That is changes in the society causes changes in decrees, in judgments and as the result evaluation in the people’s understanding of religion. Provision of women’s rights with reforms or enactment of new laws is an old debate. In Iran like some other Islamic countries the issue of the adaptation of religious rules time, location, needs and necessities have been a major issue for discussion. Based on the legal system of Iran, any type of reforms in the present laws or development of new law should be approved by jurisprudentes. Such a situation of dependency adds to the importance of taking time and location into consideration by jurisprudentes. It is noticeable that, at present and with the existing jurisprudentes’ opinions, reforms, and changes in some laws regarding women’s rights is possible.

This article’s objective is to present gender analysis to development planners, and introduce its’ application through an experience in Iran. Gender Analysis is a methodology, which provides a comprehensive picture of the men and women’s role and their share in the society, as well as their similarities and differences in needs and priorities. The practical framework of gender analysis includes profiles on four major issues: 1. The development context profile, 2. The activity profile of men and women and their roles, 3. The resources profile, includes men and women’s access and control over resources, 4. The program action profile answering the questions on: “how do we close the gaps between gender”. Also, how do we adapt women and men’s needs to development objectives. Gender analysis workshop with the participation of rural development practitioners proves the need for further educational programs for planners in Iran.

The application of qualitative and participatory research methods in rural development studies shows similarities in findings with quantitative methods, as well as possibilities of more depth data analysis. This article is based on research carried out with rural appraisal method and participatory technique. The objective is to gather information on four major issues in Women’s studies. The research is conducted in Garmsar region in the time period of 1999 and 2000. Based on research findings rural women’s activities is extensive, their knowledge on environmental conditions and degradation factors is good but their participation in group decision making in rural society is low. Therefore with qualitative research methods we can have information on: (1) rural women’s knowledge of their environment, (2) their activities, (3) their participation in the process of decision making and (4) their needs, problems and priorities.

This article reviews world’s experiences in providing financial services for women. Countries under study include some of the developing countries Islamic and Non- Islamic), as well as development, in which governmental or non-governmental organizations have been established to provide financial help, credits, saving and other services. Their objectives, methods, activities, and programs are reported. Also, the most important non-financial services and projects of these organizations are presented, such as social welfare, training courses in management skills, activities and supports for economic independence, consultative services and research projects. The key finding of the article is the difference in approaches and thereby in types of services, objectives and functions of the financial organizations in the developed countries in comparison with developing countries. The first group of countries has taken more supportive actions for women as vulnerable groups, while the latter is pursuing women’s entrepreneurship.

Women’s governance in three villages of “Ask”, “Aphoos”, and “Toocheh Ghaz” has been reported in Iran. The aim of this article is to present the processes of the ceremony in Ask village which is located in 90 km. from north- east of the capital city (Tehran). The methods of the study are participant observation and review on secondary data and documents. In the past, this ceremony had different functions of economic, social, political and even military. But it seems, at present only social function has remained. Women’s governance is established in the middle of spring, when all the men of village are out of the village to attend another ceremony. The day before, village women elect a woman with high capacity in leadership, management skills and experience. Then few women are selected as ministers in the government structure. No men are allowed to stay in village and women voluntarily take the responsibility to guard the village. Men come back to the village in the evening and women governance is over.

This paper is an attempt to criticize “universalism” and “rationality” that is engraved in the epistemological foundations of the social sciences in the modernity era. This attempt will help to reconstruct these foundations provide a better understanding of the processes of reasoning and production of knowledge by generations and gender. The concept of rationality with a universalistic approach and in its positivist meaning has resulted in neglecting rational specifies of women, which has led to a crisis in social sciences. Changes in the university and positivist meaning of rationality and replacing it with a more flexible content which assumes plurality in the process of reasoning will provide a ground for post modernists efforts in current decades.