فصلنامه مطالعات اجتماعی - روان شناختی زنان
سال سوم شماره 3 (پیاپی 9، زمستان 1384)

A considerable progress has been made towards gender equality in the Iranian education over the past decades. The study of various educational indicators points to such a fact. The most significant progress has been made at the primary and secondary education levels where the gender parity index (GPI) since 2000 has been 0.96 and 0.92, respectively. The purpose of this article is to identify the key factors that have led to higher gender equality at the primary and secondary education levels in Ir􀆗n. It analyzes the educational, social, political, economic, and cultural elements that have acted as facilitating factors, and points to effective policies and innovative measures undertaken. It also identifies the in-school and out-of-school obstacles that continue to hinder efforts to close the gender gap in education. A situation analysis of the educational trend over the past decades; an analysis of the stages of the revolution, the “Question of Woman”, and the dual role of women in post-revolutionary Ir􀆗n; and the portrayal of the political will and popular demand for education illustrate some of the causes of increased gender equality. On the other hand, the three basic principles of the Islamic Republic of Ir􀆗n —namely, politicization, Islamization, and equalization— have paved the road for increased female participation in education. Despite major achievements in the realm of female education, shortcomings persist mainly in terms of lack of access to schooling among poor, rural, and nomadic girls. Furthermore, the continued existence of a gender insensitive school curriculum that portrays stereotypical images of men and women in textbooks creates a traditional mentality that direct female students away from what have been labelled as “male-oriented” fields of study. Significant shortcomings notwithstanding, one can see a cycle in female education in Ir􀆗n in which the ruling elite seeks to educate the ideal female citizen according to the principles of an Islamizing and revolutionary society, thus creating a generation of educated women who, in turn, influence their society and act as role models for young girls, who then seek education as a means of equality and empowerment.

The situation of women in post-Revolutionary Ir􀆗n has been under scrutiny by domestic as well as foreign investigators. The existing situation is described by some as “improper” due to the prevalence of a patriarchal society. Another perspective attempts at highlighting the scientific status achieved by the Iranian women in recent years. This article, based on the current perspectives, probes the Iranian women’s situation taking intoaccount gender development indices and compares the indices with those of other nations. The article utilizes the library and secondary data analysis methods. Based upon empowerment theory, the present study investigates factors constituting the general context, those contributing to changing women’s situation, as well as factors that act to alter the ranking of the gender development indices. Such factors include an increase in the age of marriage, the decrease of fertility, popularization of secondary schooling, and a rise in number of women who enter the universities, all of which help to promote the conditions for women’s egalitarianism. Nonetheless, in the areas of employment and management, women’s shares remain lower than those of men. Yet, the prevailing circumstances are indicative of an improvement, as women strive for egalitarianism and equal opportunities.

The present study was conducted on 3770 male and female students in nine universities of Iran. The aim was to reach a comparison concerning the creative processes in female and male students. Research instruments included the Creative Test (CT) and analogy sub-scales of Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WALS). The results show that there are some significant elements of creativity as a general capacity. Based on the findings, a theoretical cognitive model has been formulated. Finally, a few suggestions have been offered for the purposes of identifying creative processes as well as for developing and improving such processes.

As in other countries, in Ir􀆗n men and women are not randomly distributed across the labour market. Such a structure is more easily seen in the industrial sector. There are men’s jobs, primarily engaged by men. Similarly there are instances of women’s jobs where labour force is predominantly female. Mixed occupations, to be sure, exist. These are a few areas where labour force is comprised of men and women in the same proportions. Women’s work is distinguished primarily, though not exclusively, by responsibility for certain tasks associated with daily and intergenerational reproduction. The other significant dimension of women’s jobs concerns their terms and conditions. These jobs are less likely to be complemented by expensive capital equipment, thus are less productive, more likely to be temporary and insecure, less likely to be organized, and contain dimmer prospects for promotion. Unstable supply of women characterizes their labour markets. These are common features of secondary labour markets which are less well paid. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows: first we consider the structure of women’s employment in the industrial sector of Ir􀆗n on the basis of ownership, skills, education, and its distribution in provinces of Ir􀆗n. In the second part of the paper, we will discuss job creation ability of sub sectors of the industry.

The present study is conducted on standardization and normalization of the Family Forgiveness Scale (FFS) within the Iranian population. A brief description of this “scale” within the scope of family related studies is presented and other studies focused on developing similar tools for measuring the extent of forgiveness are referenced. The dimensions or subscales and psychiatric features of the forgiveness scale are described. The data pertaining to FFS scale for standardization and normalization on Iranian population are provided. It is shown here that there are no significant differences between men and women in realization and resolution of subscales. However, women are shown to be more willing to acknowledge their faults and try to compensate for their wrongdoings. The comparison of results from the present tool on Iranian families with other studies on American families indicates similar forgiveness scale between the two cultures. Overall, the results of the present study indicate that present scaling tool is a highly reliable and valid instrument for studying Iranian families.

This survey expounds the role of the socio-economic factors in the explanation of aggression of husbands against their wives. The survey’s assumptions have been developed from social learning approach and from the comparative historical theories. This is a survey method research which examines the physical, mental, social, and economic aspects of aggression of husbands toward wives. The self-report data was obtained through a questionnaire from a sample of 1500 wives residing in Shir􀆗z. Simple and multiple regressions were used in the data analysis. The findings of this study suggest that there are significant relationships between the aggressive behaviour of husbands against their wives and their parents’ addiction, the attitude of the husbands toward religion, the employment of the wives and the aggressive behaviour against wives by their parents.