Iran's leader hints at rights for women

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has signalled a willingness to reinterpret Islamic law in favour of women's rights, but not following Western convention, his official website and state-run television reported yesterday.

The Ayatollah's comments come amid criticism of Iran by international human rights groups for persecuting women's rights activists.

"Some issues about women, which exist in religious jurisprudence, are not the final say. It is possible to interpret new points through research by a skillful jurist," the website quoted Ayatollah Khamenei as saying during a speech to commemorate national women's day. The Supreme Leader has final say over all state matters.

Iran's Islamic law imposes tight restrictions on women, such as requiring them to have a male guardian's permission to work or travel. Women are not allowed to become judges, and a man's court testimony is considered twice as important as a woman's. However, Iranian women have more rights than their counterparts in Saudi Arabia and other conservative Muslim countries. They can drive, vote and run for most public offices.

Ayatollah Khamenei praised the role of women in Iran and said the emphasis on their maternal role in Islam "does not mean opposition to the presence of women in various aspects of social life at all", the website reported.

But he also criticised activists who have been pushing for a foreign conception of women's rights, according to video footage of his speech broadcast on television yesterday.

Human Rights Watch recently criticised Iran for sentencing several women to prison for participating in a rally in June last year to protest against discriminatory laws against women. They were seeking specific reforms, including making women's testimony in court carry the same weight as that of men, equality of inheritance rights and the elimination of polygamy.