In Iran, women's rights activists score victory on marriage legislation

A report by the LA Times reveals a side of things going on in Iran that all too sadly the Western media mostly simply ignores and fails to report. In this instance it looks like one small step forward - and at least 4 back as women bloggers have ended up being imprisoned:

"Female activists in Iran scored a rare but significant victory this week when parliament decided to shelve legislation that they said would have reduced the rights of women in marriage. But on Tuesday, a court sentenced four of their leaders to prison.

The four women were sentenced to six months for contributing to banned women's websites, Shirin Ebadi, their lawyer, told news outlets. They were identified as Mariam Hossein-khah, Nahid Keshavarz, Jelveh Javaheri and Parvin Ardalan.

Last week, Zeinab Bayzeydi, a women's rights activist in western Iran, was sentenced to four years in prison. All five were involved in an international campaign, "One Million Signatures," to amass petitions demanding women's rights in the Islamic Republic.

The legislation set aside Monday, titled The Family Protection Bill, was proposed by conservative lawmakers in July. It included changes to the family law that critics said were anything but protective of families.

The bill would have allowed husbands to get religiously sanctioned "temporary" marriages or take additional wives without the consent of their first spouses. In addition, divorced women would have to pay taxes on alimony."

Read on here.

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