نشریه زن در توسعه و سیاست
سال دهم شماره 4 (زمستان 1391)

Feminist thought has always challenged the Islamic viewpoint. A majority of feminists believe that ‘family,’ is a source of oppression against women, and is essentially, the main way of reproducing male dominance. Part of the feminist argumentation, highlights itself through the form of criticism of Western political customs, especially in the liberal debate of ‘public order’. In this debate, liberal theorists treat the ‘family’ as a part of a ‘personal sphere’ or a ‘strictly private area,’ and thus, by taking this stance, drive it out from the attention of public debate and legislation; the result of which, being that it leads to the perfect breeding ground for male dominance and for the fostering of unfair relations.This paper, reviewing the aforementioned standpoint, illustrates that ‘family’, has been subject to legislation in Muslim society since the emergence of Islam, and an abundance of rules and laws have been created in order to establish healthy and just relations and protect women's rights. Indeed, from the viewpoint of Islam, the family structure has been created on the basis of affection, and specific rules have been formed for regulating this important establishment.

oday, sustainable development, in most social and economic planning, is considered as one of the key concepts.The term "development," focuses on improving of the quality of life and promoting of the welfare of society, whilst "stability," refers to the continuation of this process throughout the generations of mankind.Therefore, sustainable development can be defined as being a development that meets the needs of current generations without impairing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.One of the basic requirements of sustainable development is proper use of available resources.This paper examines the role of women in sustainable development in the environmental dimension, as being extremely important and invaluable. In agenda 21 of the Rio Summit, women are considered as being one of the main groups in achieving sustainable development.The paper also reviews available literature on the role of women in sustainable development, particularly in the environmental dimension, using data from the World Values Survey for 50 countries. The article investigates the organizational and practical actions of women on environmental issues.Research findings indicate that women in most countries, in contrast to their male counterparts, participate actively in environmental protection and conservation of resources, whilst in the areas of setting up the structures of organization, and participation in environmental decision making, they lack active participation. The study of environmental action of women in the different generations’ groups, shows middle-aged women are involved in more practical actions to protect the environment, whereas, the younger generations are more active in environmental organizations.

Widespread changes in women’s roles in society, in turn, leads to their increasing participation in the social arena, therefore, by increasing women’s autonomy in different aspects of life, they are more likely to reach to higher positions and status than they were in earlier decades. This situation provides the context for changes in fertility ideals (fertility behavior, desires, and ideals) of women. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of different indices of women’s autonomy on fertility behavior, desires, and ideals of Kurdish women in the city of Mahabad. Data was collected through a survey which was conducted in April 2012 on 700 households, and then analyzed using SPSS software.Results show that women have relative autonomy in all indices related to women’s autonomy. According to this study, at the time the survey was carried out, more than 61 percent of women stated that they were content with the number of offspring they had, and had no desire for further children. Among those who wanted to continue their childbearing, nearly 70 percent stated that, in the current situation, two children were ideal for a family. Results of Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) showed that the fertility ideals and desires of women are affected respectively, by direct and indirect indices regarding women’s autonomy. Furthermore, although women’s fertility behavior is affected by three indices of women’s autonomy, nevertheless, using contraceptive devices along with other variables, play an important role in explaining women’s fertility behavior. According to the results of this study, it is not expected that population policies aimed at encouraging fertility, would lead to a fertility increase in all social strata.

The objective of the paper is to analyzethe impact of gender on media usage, and the preference and precedence given to various types of this media and their contents, in Iranian Society. Most of the relevant studies concentrate on representation, reception analysis and on the norms of women’s favorite genres. In general, gender plays a determining role in the use of different media sources and research concerningthis issue, has aspecial position in media studies. Most gender-based studies on media usagehave focused their attention on women; likewise, in this paper, we have also preferred to concentrate our attention onwomen.The main question is to investigate,taking into consideration the different kinds of pleasures and preferences, to what extent the gender variable could be a determining factor. Findings show that, with the exception of the internet,which is dominated worldwide by men, in general, gender is not a determining factor in researching the norms of media usage in Iran. This conclusion could imply gender equality in Iran, at least in terms of media usage.

With respect to the importance of civic participation as the main index of social development, this research aims at studying the rate of female civic participation, and its categories, according to the conceptual apparatus of Putnam. The research was carried out by means of a survey, using a questionnaire; during which 370 women, aged 18 to 45 years old, from Aleshtar, were interviewed. Findings show that the average rate of civic participation among women was equivalent to 59.2%, which, on a scale of 0 to 100, was evaluated as intermediate. Among the categories of civic participation, religious activities were ranked most prominent, with institutional (associational) activities being least popular. Multiple regression analysis, shows that women’s civic participation is based on the intensity of relationship, which is interconnected with variables such as the amount of available resources, scope of social relations, social efficacy, marriage status and age.The above variables explain a 54% overall change in women’s civic participation. At the conclusion of this study, implications of the findings in the field of future studies and cultural and social policy making, have been discussed.

The aim of this study is the evaluation of gender equality in Iran's educational system, as it is regarded as being one of the most important national and international goals. An evaluative research method, along with a secondary analysis method of Iran's 2011 census analysis, have been employed for this purpose.Results show that, in total, the age group of up to 34 years old, those in the age group of up to 39 years old located in urban areas, and those in the age group of up to 24 years old, who were inhabitants of rural areas, gender equality can be found within Iran's educational system. The most obvious cases of gender inequality in Iran's educational system, can be found in the age group of those above 35 years of age. In addition to these findings, analysis of the different educational levels, shows that we have gender equality at the primary school level. In lower secondary and upper secondary levels and in higher education, the preference is directed towards male students, with female students finding gender equality only at pre-university level.

The empowerment of women has been widely acknowledged as an important goal in international development. The main aim of this study was to investigate empowerment levels and rate among the members of Tafihan Rural Women’s Association.Those who were subject to research consisted of all members of the Tafihan Women’s Association (418 members), out of which, a total number of 200 members were selected through a stratified random sampling method. The data was obtained through means of a questionnaire. Face validity of the questionnaire was obtained through an experts’ panel, and reliability was acquired through pilot testing. The Cronbach's alpha was. 94. Results revealed that empowerment dimensions of the association members can be categorized in four sectors: psychological, familial, economic and socio-cultural dimensions. Results also showed that psychological and socio-cultural dimensions ranked highest, and were followed by familial and economic dimensions.