Mariam Behruzi (1945 – 2012) was an Iranian lawyer and former member of the Iranian Majlis. In 1980, she was one of four women elected to the first Majlis of the Islamic Republic of Iran, where she continued to serve until 1996. She worked to improve women's and family issues, successfully campaigning to have a committee on women's issues created within the Majlis. Behruzi also worked to have more women included in the judiciary, and her efforts resulted both in a reversal of a ban that prohibited women from studying law and a change in public opinion on women in law in Iran.

Early life

Behruzi was born in 1945 in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

to a prominent

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. She completed high school and, despite being married at 15, studied at university. She had a son, who was killed in the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

Career

After beginning university, Behruzi started to provide education on the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

to Iranian women. She participated in the protests against

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution, which ...

that led up to the 1979 Iranian Revolution in which the Shah and the

Pahlavi dynasty The Pahlavi dynasty () is an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian royal dynasty that was the Pahlavi Iran, last to rule Iran before the country's monarchy was abolished by the Iranian Revolution in 1979. It was founded in 1925 by Reza Shah, Reza S ...

were overthrown, and an

Islamic Republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been used for a s ...

was established under

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

. Though barred from political activity in 1975, she continued to participate secretly, and was jailed from 1978–1979. In 1980, Behruzi was among four women elected to the first Majlis of the Islamic Republic. She, along with other women, helped found the Committee of the Family within the Majlis. They met regularly with the civil court judges, where they examined family issues and came up with ways to solve women's issues within the family setting. Behruzi was particularly concerned with improving

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

courts, which she found to focus too little on women and children and specifically to favor fathers in custody issues. She also worked to improve the rights afforded to divorced wives. Behruzi also tried to establish a committee for women's issues, though this did not pass. Behruzi was re-elected to the second Majlis, along with two of the three other women from the first Majlis. Behruzi created the Zeinab's Association (also referred to as the Zainab Society) in 1986 or 1987. This was a political party that focused on women's education and social and political awareness, and encouraged its members to pursue women's issues by pressuring the Majlis and religious leaders. In 1991, Behruzi was one of nine women elected to the fourth Majlis. During her term, she continued to work on family and women's issues. She pushed to have women included in all of the Majlis committees, and passed a bill allowing women to retire after twenty years in the

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. Behruzi campaigned, along with five other female candidates, for election to the fifth Majlis. She was by now well-recognized as a politician working to improve women's issues, and became more bold in her condemnation of a culture that diminished women's work. She was not elected, but her work resulted in the creation of a women's committee on the Majlis. No longer a member of the Majlis, Behruzi began to work to have more women appointed as judicial advisors. This was a difficult issue, as men and women did not generally work together per

religious practice Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, trans ...

, a practice that she supported. However, she used examples of women's contributions to the Islamic revolution, statements by

Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

encouraging women to participate in all areas, and arguments rooted in

Islamic feminism Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate for women's rights, gender equality, and ...

to argue for reversal of the prohibition on women working in the legal system that had been introduced when Khomeini came into power. She succeeded, and women were again able to study law. Her work has been credited with a broader change in views on women in the Iranian judiciary. Behruzi also worked as an organizer of the Iranian Women's Islamic Association, and chaired the Islamic studies program at

Shahid Beheshti University Shahid Beheshti University (SBU) (), originally founded as the Melli University (National University of Iran) (), is a Public university, public research university in Tehran, Iran. The university offers programs at Bachelor's, Master's and Ph. ...

in Tehran.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Behruzi, Mariam 1945 births Politicians from Tehran Iranian women lawyers Members of the Women's fraction of Islamic Consultative Assembly Members of the 1st Islamic Consultative Assembly Members of the 2nd Islamic Consultative Assembly Members of the 3rd Islamic Consultative Assembly Members of the 4th Islamic Consultative Assembly Academic staff of Shahid Beheshti University Zeynab Society politicians Islamic Coalition Party politicians Islamic Republican Party politicians 2012 deaths Secretaries-general of political parties in Iran