Controversial articles of Iran's family protection bill to be reviewed

Representatives at Iran's parliament

Iranian parliament has decided to send the controversial articles 22, 23 and 24 of the family protection bill to its Legal and Judicial Commission for further review.

ILNA reports that a week into the reintroduction of the family protection bill, decisions regarding the three articles that have drawn the protest of women’s rights activists have been postponed.

According to this report, Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Parliament, said today: “In view of warnings by the representatives and discussions with the judiciary, articles 22, 23 and 24 bear some religious and legal problems.”

He added that the articles have been sent to the Legal and Judicial Commission in order to be rectified.

Article 22 involves the obligation to register temporary marriages in case of pregnancy; Article 23 involves alternations in the conditions men must meet to take a second wife; and Article 24 involves the lump sum alimony paid to women upon divorce.

The parliament is currently examining Article 25 of the family protection bill.

Iranian women’s rights activists have been following all the developments in the parliament’s treatment of this bill and putting up fierce opposition to the articles they deem objectionable.

This bill, which was introduced into the parliament three years ago, had been shelved after widespread protest against articles 22, 23 and 24 and its recent reintroduction into the parliament has once more rallied women’s rights activists against it.