The women of Iran are constantly seen as half a person. They are not recognized as whole human beings. A woman's testimony counts for half a man's testimony in court. A married woman cannot leave the country without her husband or his written permission (Svirsky). Iranian women are bound to their male counterparts and are unable to think of themselves as free women. Reproductive rights, defined by the World Health Organization, states they are the basic right of all couples to decided when and how many children they want to conceive. However, the Arabic translation of 'reproductive rights' means 'rights associated with giving birth' (Speake). When we hear the term 'reproductive right' we think of things such as contraceptives, abortion, and access to reproductive healthcare facilities. Iranian women have had their sexual and reproductive rights stripped away by the Iranian government, their male counterparts, and the Islamic religion. Iranian women continuously fight for access to the natural nights they were born with. 

In 2012, the Supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei, gave his support for two new proposed laws that will threaten the rights of all Iranian women. The Bill to Increase Fertility Rates and Prevent Population Decline (Bill 446) restricts a woman's use of contraceptives and outlaws' voluntary sterilization. Sterilization is believed to be the second most common form of contraceptive in Iran (Amnesty International). Many conservative Islamist argue that sterilization attempts to "change what God has created" while others believe women may come to regret this decision later on in life (Ragab). Even though some women may come to regret sterilization, at least they had the opportunity to make the decision for themselves. The bill states that any individual that has a tubectomy or tubal ligation could face two-five years in prison (Mouri).  Along with restricting the use of contraceptives, the government would also restrict the availability of information regarding contraceptives as a way to keep woman ignorant about their options. Iran had one of the most successful birth-control programs in the world, they were able to cut the birth rate down from 7 to 2.2 children per woman, until funding was cut in order to increase the population again (Wolpow). Without knowledge, these women will not be able to make educated decisions regarding their health and safety. A case study established that there was a significant association between a woman's reproductive decision making power and the type of current contraceptive use. Having decision making power over their reproductive choices and methods leads to the empowerment of women (Talebian). Along with restricting a right that these women desperately need, these laws also push back all the hard work that has been put into gaining these rights. These new bills will send us back decades, "The bills reinforce discriminatory stereotypes of women" (Amnesty International). 

Bill 446 was passed by parliament in August of 2014 and underwent amendments by the Guardian Council which is the last step before becoming law. The bill derives from the purpose of repressing women in order to reduce or prevent female activism or 'propagandizing against the state' (Fathi). The bill eliminates state funding for the family planning programs which provided women with affordable contraceptives and the necessary knowledge with starting a family. The family planning programs were established after the 1979 Revolution which led to a decrease in the population growth of Iran. The Supreme leader stated that 'family planning was a mistake' and decided the Iranian population needed a 'boost' which is why he supported these two new proposed laws (Mouri). The population of Iran averages around 77.45 million people, which is more than double the population of Iraq. The defunding of these programs also takes away the access to condoms, causing unwanted/unplanned pregnancies along with a higher risk of receiving a sexually transmitted disease such as HIV, leading women to search out illegal and unsafe abortions. Health care facilities across the country are uneven and tend to have a higher death risk rate in certain parts of the region compared to others. Many unmarried young persons and adolescents are unaware of the importance of reproductive health since a majority of the information is restricted by laws, there is critical barrier that needs to be broken in order to provide health services (Akbari). A woman's ability to freely decide when and whether to have children is a 'human right' that is fundamental in the process of other rights for their well-being (Iran Primer). A 'human right' is a right that belongs justifiably to every person regardless of race, nationality, sex, or religion.  

The Comprehensive Population and Exaltation of Family Bill, Bill 315, was also supported by the Supreme Leader of Iran which establishes a new priority order when it comes to obtaining a job. The new order of importance for hires is married men with children, then married men without children, THEN married women with children. This bill will make it exceedingly difficult for single women to become independent or for women struggling with a divorce to obtain employment. Bill 315 encourages women to stay home and effectively become 'baby-making machines' in order to produce a new generation and keep the population growing (Fathi). This new bill also discourages police involvement with marital and family matters, increasing the risk of domestic violence for women (Amnesty International). Bill 315 reinforces the ideology that women should stay at home with the children, continuing to have children, instead of venturing out into the workplace along side their husbands and other male counterparts. This bill promotes an "Islamic Iranian life style rooted in 'tradition' family values and gender-role stereotypes" (Iran Primer). The Young Turks, a panel of people on Youtube, discuss these two new bills that have the potential to become laws and Jimmy Dore states "they are making women more dependent on a man" (The Young Turks). Making women dependent on a man leads to Arabian countries having the lowest rate of women participating in the workforce (Ilkkaracan). 

The Qur'an does not specifically mention abortion but the Islamic concept of 'Ensoulment' determines the 'killing' of a baby can and cannot happen. Ensoulment signifies the amount of time after conception that the fetus obtains a soul therefore becoming a human being. Ensoulment is thought to happen 40-120 days after conception depending on 'school of thought'. Many schools within Islam will allow an abortion to take place as long as it happens before 'ensoulment', however many of the laws within Islamic countries such as Iran focus on the more conservative schools of thought which focus on protecting the fetus. It is unanimously agreed that an abortion 120 days after conception is not allowed (Ragab).  In many cases, abortion is only allowed if there is a threat to the health and survival of the mother even though many conservatives would argue that the fetus should be saved instead of the mother due to the innocence of the unborn child. Women supposedly belong to society and in Islam, they are seen as the "center of moral authority and value" (Ilkkaracan). This view on women limits their ownership of their own bodies and limits the choices they are allowed to make regarding their body and their reproductive or sexual rights. 

There are many different interpretations of the Qur'an and each interpretation describes something different regarding how women should be displayed. One interpretation of the Qur'an suggest that women are of lower status due to their high fertility in Muslim cultures such as Iran. This lower status derives in two forms; restricted access to things such as education and employment or dependence on another person. Another interpretation of the Qur'an states that the status of women in Islam is misunderstood and reflects the tenets and demographics of the Islamic culture (Ragab). Some Muslim authors argue that the Qur'an should be interpreted in a more democratic manner which reflects a Western ideology in regards to women's reproductive choice. In regards to sexual health and relations, the Qur'an forbids acts that are thought to be harmful to ones' sexual health; castration, intercourse during menstruation, and anal intercourse. It is believed that while women are on their 'courses', menstruation period, they are polluted and others need to stay away from them until they purify themselves (Ragab). Though that made just be an excuse for men to steer clear of a hormonal woman.

Rochelle Terman, a graduate student at the University of California Berkeley, argues that the leaders who are accused of limiting women's ability to integrate into the work place are actually encouraging women's education and social participation throughout the Islamic Republic of Iran (Terman). If these 'leaders' were truly encouraging Iranian women to integrate themselves into the working public, Arabian countries such as Iran would not have the least amount of women in the workplace. Along with making these women stay home with the children and become dependent on men, they are also "effectively setting up a cast system" (The Young Turks). A woman's non-governmental organization, NGO, in Iran have put the issue of honor crimes and crimes against women on the panel for discussion for national and international bodies. These panels will discuss the activism that surrounds these women and how they plan to help end crimes such as domestic violence and honor killings (Ilkkaracan). Honor killings are premeditated killings that are meant to 'wash away the shame' the guilty has brought upon the family (Landinfo). An honor killing is usually carried out by a male relative that is close to the victim. A woman's virtue is one of the main things that brings honor to herself and to her family which is one of the main reasons that many women stay virgins until they are married. The highest rates of suicide and honor killings amongst young girls in Iran are due to the loss of virginity or unplanned pregnancies (Speake). Female genital mutilation is another way to punish a woman for premarital intercourse or as a way to ensure a young woman's virtue. Female genital mutilation, FGM, advocates encourage this as a tradition of their religion even though a majority of the country see this as an optional option. Opponents of FGM state that the act is a tribal custom that predates the Islamic religion and is unnecessary in this day and age (Speake). There are few crimes men can be punished for within a marriage or family. Rape is not a punishable crime when committed by a married man on his wife since it is believed that a man is "entitled to have sexual relations with his wife" (Landinfo). 

Iranian women are prided on their virtue and very few openly express themselves when it comes to their sexual desires and needs. Many married women refuse to discuss their sexual life with their close friends or family members because women having sexual desires and an active sex life is usually frowned upon, anywhere in the world. Many women took up a strategy of silence when it comes to expressing their sexual needs or desires. A case study interviewed thirty-seven married women, five husbands, and seven midwives where interviewers asked the participants to explain their thoughts and feelings regarding their personal sexual lives (Janghorban). If women are unlikely to discuss their sexual lives with their partners or family members, how likely are they to discuss harder issues such as abuse or unwanted pregnancies if and when they happen? The double standard between men and women regarding sexual tendencies and sex drives needs to be eliminated in order for women to feel safe about expressing their wants and needs. These wants and needs are not just about their sexual wants and needs but also their reproductive needs such as abortions or contraceptives. Many women feel like they cannot refuse their husbands sex because it would be shameful and they're also scared what might happen if she did refuse him. Many women said that they would try to negotiate their desire to not engage in anything sexual with non-verbal cues in hopes that their husbands' would be supportive of their decision and not force them into something they did not want to participate in. Some husbands respect their wives' decisions to not participate in sexual activities while others chose to ignore their wives' decisions, which is allowed by law (Janghorban). It is a woman's natural born right to decide what and when something happens to her body. In essence, married Iranian women belong to their husbands like property and no one should be treated that way. If history has taught us anything, it is that 'owning' people is inhumane and should be expunged. Women are discriminated against more so in Muslim countries such as Iran because the gender stereotyping mingles in with the laws and the legal system. Women are barred from becoming judges in Iran so if there was a custody battle in a divorce case, a male judge is more likely to side with the father instead of the mother. Even if a male judge did side with the mother, an unmarried woman with children is unlikely to be hired due to Bill 315 and would not be able to financially support herself and her children. This issue demonstrates why many women do not attempt to get a divorce and instead decide to live unhappily in their marriages since the law has made them dependent on their husbands for survival (Roudi).

The women of Iran are continuously fighting the gender stereotyping they face from the Islamic religion, government, along with their male counterparts. The Iranian government is attempting to make these two new bills into laws as a way to keep women from making their own decisions for themselves. Without the freedom to make their own decisions Iranian women will forever be dependent on a man. Women becoming re-dependent on a man will diminish all the hard work feminist have fought for. The Supreme leader of Iran believes that these two new bills will boost the population of Iran even though they already have enough people. These new laws will make it harder for single women to obtain employment and harder to obtain access to healthcare. The interpretations of the Islamic religion expressed in Iran also make it difficult for women to feel like they have the freedom to make the decisions for themselves regarding their bodies. Women shouldn't have to worry about their men counterparts making their decisions regarding their bodies on top of having to worry about the possibility of sexual assault and honor crimes. The women of Iran are constantly looking over their shoulder and worrying about what new right they might have taken away next. The women of Iran should be able to make their reproductive and sexual decisions for themselves. We are in the 21st Century and any woman, anywhere in the world, should be able to make decisions regarding their bodies for themselves.

