Iranian Women’s NGOs
Pushing Forth A Womans Agenda

Background
• NGOs Before the Islamic Revolution of 1979
• Emergence of Modern NGOs in the late 1980s and
1990s
• Growth of the NGOs during the reform period
– Khatami elected on a platform of promotion of civil society
– Facilitation of Registration
– Government Support (Financial, devolution, cooperation)
– Capacity Building Programs
– Over 600 women’s ngos currently exist

Classification of NGOs
• Traditional NGOs or Community-based organizations
• Modern NGOs

Traditional NGOs
– Long tradition, based in culture and religious belief
– Conduct charitable work
– Support to female heads of households
– Support to orphans
– Education, housing and medical support
– Cash handouts
– Low skills training for women and employment generation
– Small loans for home based businesses
– Some more progressive and preventive work

Traditional NGOs
Strengths
• Provide a valuable service (safety net)
• Based in tradition and have strong community relations and support
• Deal with tangible issues
• Understand their role and their relationship with government

Traditional NGOs
Challenges
• Promote a culture of dependence
• Not prevention or development oriented
• Structures are not democratic
• Outdated accounting systems
• Women are present in their ranks, but not sufficiently present at the decision making levels

•Modern NGOs
• Prevention oriented and address issues of importance to women, even issues that are sensitive, like VOA, Legal change
• Offer theory
• Provide some services. Like legal services, job training, empowerment, etc
• Engaged largely in training, education, information sharing and other innovative programs designed to address root causes with a base in research and theory
• Protests and campaigns

Modern NGOs
Strengths
• Addressing women’s issues
• Addressing sensitive issues
• Based on research and theory and long term vision
• Prevention oriented

Distinctions between modern and traditional
• NGOs are in a state of transition and development and so their positions, structures and orientation is changing. It is difficult to categorize them with certainty.

Women’s NGOs as Agents of
Change
• A slow start, despite attention and support at the policy level
• For approximately 3 years now the strongest sector:
– Time to develop into strong organizations, develop mission and vision and gain expertise
– Joined by activists, journalists, etc.
– Academics slowly becoming involved

Women’s NGOs as Agents of
Change (cont’d)
• Resolve on the part of the most important players to address women’s issues beyond political factionalism
• Commitment to democratic practices
• Emergence of multiple networks
• Commitment to work together despite differing ideologies and belief systems

Women Activists Ideological
Leanings
1. Islamists
• Belief in biological differences as key, belief in equity in separate spheres, promote the role of women in the family
– Fundementalists
– moderates

Women Activists Ideological
Leanings (cont’d)
2. Progressive alternative religious thinkers
• Belief in dynamic Islamic Jurisprudence
– Believers: truly believe that Islamic Doctrine through new and progressive interpretation (practice of ijtihad) can respond to the needs of a modern society
– Strategists: believe in human rights, but see this as a culturally appropriate strategy
– New options: seek a combination of religious doctrine and democratic and human rights standards to respond to modern day issues, especially role of women

Women Activists Ideological
Leanings (cont’d)
3. Human Rights Activists
• Moderate: some tend to be religious, but see this as a personal choice, open to lobbying and cooperation with other groups and government, believe that it is a long process of education and compromise in order to achieve equal status for women based on HR
• Extreme: don’t believe in compromise and cooperation, and see relations with government as compromise to their independence

Women’s Thinking Collaborative
• Partnerships across ideologies for change and improvement of women’s status
• Focus on VAW, change of laws that discriminate against women, with each member having a different role
• Campaigns, education, outreach
• Working on democracy within the women’s movement and collaborative efforts of women’s
NGOS

Special Note on Provincial NGOs and Youth NGOs
• A significant force for women, but face their own issues and have not received sufficient support, lack relations with tehran based organizations, and opportunities for growth

Challenges faced by Women’s
NGOs
• New sector, lack of experience and organizational development
• Lack of funding
• Lack of strong relations with government
• Lack of understanding of their own roles
• Lack of understanding of relations to government
• Conflict
• A security oriented view to the sector
• Women’s issues remain sensitive

The Outlook is Positive
• The Government has expressed interest in continuing cooperation with NGOs and on womans empowerment
• This sector has a strong and remarkable growth
• They are consistently rethinking their position and using experiences of other groups
• They are committed to making change and will do the outreach necessary to make it happen, with other groups, with government, with the public