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Malekpour A, Behjatiardakani M. (2024). Investigating the Approach of Legislators and Organizations in Charge of Women Heads of Households in Empowering them. refahj. 24(93), : 10 doi:10.32598/refahj.24.93.4213.1
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Extended abstract
Introduction
Social justice in general and justice for specific social groups that are left out of the cycle of development for social reasons are at the center of social policy debates. The correct and fair regulation of the relationship between men and women in order to enjoy a desirable life is based on their access to resources, facilities, opportunities, and capabilities are distributed between me and women without discrimination. For historical reasons, including the dominance and continuation of traditional and discriminatory attitudes in assigning social roles to them and the implementation of male-centered policies, women are deprived of the facilities and capabilities necessary to fight poverty, empowering the process of gaining this control and it is a process of transition from a state of lack of power to a state of relatively greater control over life, destiny, and environment. Therefore, they should be prioritized in poverty and inequality studies and policies, but women’s empowerment efforts and experiences are influenced by the interests of resource owners and policies that are generally gender-biased. The level of social organization, organized structurally and historically and through laws, policies, and cultural norms determines who can own what and to what extent. Institutional, social, and cultural obstacles determine the level and type of women’s poverty by limiting women’s rights and creating obstacles to promote women’s capabilities and by changing women’s mentality in order not to create new opportunities.
Methods
This research is a type of descriptive, analytical and in-depth research, which was carried out in 2016 with the method of analyzing documents and documents in a qualitative manner. The documents include the following two parts: upstream documents, the constitution, the vision document, and the general policies of the system 2- Intermediate documents, statutes, economic and social development program first to sixth, which were the foundation of document analysis, Amartya Sen’s macro approach and Sarah Lange’s empowerment components, and the seven-step method of Claesi were used for data analysis.
Table 1: The role of organizations in charge of empowering women heads of households
The above table shows that the legislative organization paid attention to all capabilities and achievements, but this attention was not at the same level.
findings
Upstream documents that include the constitution and the comprehensive plan for empowering women heads of households.
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to investigate the legislator’s approach in empowering women heads of households and answering the following questions in response to the first question: Has the legislator considered the strengthening of each of the capabilities (welfare, access, awareness, participation, control) and achievements (material, psychological and social) of women heads of households in the legislation? The examination of the documents showed that in most of the upstream documents, considering that in the laws and regulations of the organizations in charge of women heads of households, the issue of empowerment is clearly mentioned. The welfare aspect and the material achievement of empowerment have been discussed more. In the most important upstream document “Comprehensive Empowerment Plan”, in the definition of the female head of the household, only the economic aspect of headship has been taken into consideration, and its spiritual and social aspects have been neglected. In this plan, the most emphasis is on the welfare role of trustee organizations and other aspects are less visible. In terms of psychological empowerment, most of the programs are based on the temporary status of women’s guardianship and emphasis on women’s marriage and exit from this situation.
In response to the second question: What role has been defined for each of the organizations to empower women heads of households? The legislator has not assigned any role to support organizations in order to change gender stereotypes for the social acceptance and trust of female heads of households. The legislator has not paid attention to empowering women in social relations, decision-making, influence, and social participation. In the documents of the welfare organization, the role of the organization in developing all the capabilities of women heads of households is emphasized. In the field of achievements, all aspects of empowerment have been considered. In the documents of the aid committee, the development of participation and control capabilities have been neglected. In the field of achievements, only the material aspect has been taken into account and other aspects have been neglected. In the documents of Tehran Municipality, the development of control capability is neglected. In the field of achievements, all aspects of empowerment have been considered. In response to the third question: In laws and regulations, what is the concept of female head of household and empowerment based on? In most upstream documents, instead of using the term “women head of the household” or “self-supporting women”, the term “unaccompanied women” has been used, which has gender stereotypes and is a sign of a supportive approach instead of empowering. In response to the fourth question: which micro and macro factors are most effective in empowering women heads of households? Although all the capabilities and achievements are present in the programs and actions of these three supporting organizations, their distribution is uneven. In the aid committee, the welfare capability of the foundation forms the programs of this organization.
This distribution is slightly more balanced in the welfare organization and municipality. In all three organizations, empowering programs and measures suffer greatly from the lack of a program to develop the ability of female heads of households to participate. In the field of development of controllability, the only welfare organization is in a favorable condition and the municipality and especially the aid committee have weak and limited plans in this field. The result tracks women’s attainment of material gains, not social gains. And finally, considering that the quality of life of women heads of households is affected by their physical, mental, and social health, all dimensions of empowerment should be taken into consideration.
Ethical considerations
Authors’ contributions
All authors contributed in producing of the research.
Funding
The present study did not have any sponsors.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
Following the ethics of research
In this article, all rights relating to references are cited and resources are carefully Listed.
Introduction
Social justice in general and justice for specific social groups that are left out of the cycle of development for social reasons are at the center of social policy debates. The correct and fair regulation of the relationship between men and women in order to enjoy a desirable life is based on their access to resources, facilities, opportunities, and capabilities are distributed between me and women without discrimination. For historical reasons, including the dominance and continuation of traditional and discriminatory attitudes in assigning social roles to them and the implementation of male-centered policies, women are deprived of the facilities and capabilities necessary to fight poverty, empowering the process of gaining this control and it is a process of transition from a state of lack of power to a state of relatively greater control over life, destiny, and environment. Therefore, they should be prioritized in poverty and inequality studies and policies, but women’s empowerment efforts and experiences are influenced by the interests of resource owners and policies that are generally gender-biased. The level of social organization, organized structurally and historically and through laws, policies, and cultural norms determines who can own what and to what extent. Institutional, social, and cultural obstacles determine the level and type of women’s poverty by limiting women’s rights and creating obstacles to promote women’s capabilities and by changing women’s mentality in order not to create new opportunities.
Methods
This research is a type of descriptive, analytical and in-depth research, which was carried out in 2016 with the method of analyzing documents and documents in a qualitative manner. The documents include the following two parts: upstream documents, the constitution, the vision document, and the general policies of the system 2- Intermediate documents, statutes, economic and social development program first to sixth, which were the foundation of document analysis, Amartya Sen’s macro approach and Sarah Lange’s empowerment components, and the seven-step method of Claesi were used for data analysis.
Table 1: The role of organizations in charge of empowering women heads of households
| achievement | Ability | responsible body | Role | ||||||||
| Physical | social | psychological | Prosperity | access | Consciousness | participation | Control | rehabilitation | Emdad Committee | Municipality | |
| Supporting active support groups | |||||||||||
| Creating and strengthening cooperative groups | |||||||||||
| Expansion of self-help groups in the microfinance program | |||||||||||
| Community-oriented empowerment with the approach of reducing poverty | |||||||||||
| Teaching technical and professional skills | |||||||||||
| Training to start a business | |||||||||||
| Development of product sales networks | |||||||||||
| Holding product sales festivals | |||||||||||
| Creating seasonal markets | |||||||||||
| Teaching social resilience | |||||||||||
| Parenting education | |||||||||||
| Hamyar Omid project for divorced women and deceased spouses | |||||||||||
| Advice and guidance to people who are subject to remarriage | |||||||||||
| Literacy for female heads of the household | |||||||||||
| Establishment of social work clinics | |||||||||||
| Electronic birth certificate of mental health and social harms | |||||||||||
| Health file to monitor physical and mental health status | |||||||||||
| Self-care training | |||||||||||
| Performing screening tests | |||||||||||
| Free visits to medical centers | |||||||||||
| Reimbursement of out-of-pocket medical expenses | |||||||||||
| Giving dowry to children | |||||||||||
| Counseling before, during and after marriage | |||||||||||
| Aid request matching plan (Homa) | |||||||||||
| Help to finance education | |||||||||||
| Insuring students | |||||||||||
| Facilitating the return of children left behind to school | |||||||||||
| Students benefit from academic and career counseling | |||||||||||
| Supporting the continuation of education and preventing students from dropping out | |||||||||||
| Social insurance of urban women | |||||||||||
| Services related to life insurance | |||||||||||
| Accident insurance | |||||||||||
| Helping to build, purchase and improve housing | |||||||||||
| Housing deposit assistance | |||||||||||
| Provision and distribution of essential life supplies | |||||||||||
| Providing a food basket | |||||||||||
The above table shows that the legislative organization paid attention to all capabilities and achievements, but this attention was not at the same level.
findings
Upstream documents that include the constitution and the comprehensive plan for empowering women heads of households.
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to investigate the legislator’s approach in empowering women heads of households and answering the following questions in response to the first question: Has the legislator considered the strengthening of each of the capabilities (welfare, access, awareness, participation, control) and achievements (material, psychological and social) of women heads of households in the legislation? The examination of the documents showed that in most of the upstream documents, considering that in the laws and regulations of the organizations in charge of women heads of households, the issue of empowerment is clearly mentioned. The welfare aspect and the material achievement of empowerment have been discussed more. In the most important upstream document “Comprehensive Empowerment Plan”, in the definition of the female head of the household, only the economic aspect of headship has been taken into consideration, and its spiritual and social aspects have been neglected. In this plan, the most emphasis is on the welfare role of trustee organizations and other aspects are less visible. In terms of psychological empowerment, most of the programs are based on the temporary status of women’s guardianship and emphasis on women’s marriage and exit from this situation.
In response to the second question: What role has been defined for each of the organizations to empower women heads of households? The legislator has not assigned any role to support organizations in order to change gender stereotypes for the social acceptance and trust of female heads of households. The legislator has not paid attention to empowering women in social relations, decision-making, influence, and social participation. In the documents of the welfare organization, the role of the organization in developing all the capabilities of women heads of households is emphasized. In the field of achievements, all aspects of empowerment have been considered. In the documents of the aid committee, the development of participation and control capabilities have been neglected. In the field of achievements, only the material aspect has been taken into account and other aspects have been neglected. In the documents of Tehran Municipality, the development of control capability is neglected. In the field of achievements, all aspects of empowerment have been considered. In response to the third question: In laws and regulations, what is the concept of female head of household and empowerment based on? In most upstream documents, instead of using the term “women head of the household” or “self-supporting women”, the term “unaccompanied women” has been used, which has gender stereotypes and is a sign of a supportive approach instead of empowering. In response to the fourth question: which micro and macro factors are most effective in empowering women heads of households? Although all the capabilities and achievements are present in the programs and actions of these three supporting organizations, their distribution is uneven. In the aid committee, the welfare capability of the foundation forms the programs of this organization.
This distribution is slightly more balanced in the welfare organization and municipality. In all three organizations, empowering programs and measures suffer greatly from the lack of a program to develop the ability of female heads of households to participate. In the field of development of controllability, the only welfare organization is in a favorable condition and the municipality and especially the aid committee have weak and limited plans in this field. The result tracks women’s attainment of material gains, not social gains. And finally, considering that the quality of life of women heads of households is affected by their physical, mental, and social health, all dimensions of empowerment should be taken into consideration.
Ethical considerations
Authors’ contributions
All authors contributed in producing of the research.
Funding
The present study did not have any sponsors.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
Following the ethics of research
In this article, all rights relating to references are cited and resources are carefully Listed.
Type of Study: method |
Received: 2022/10/5 | Accepted: 2024/05/6 | Published: 2024/06/30
Received: 2022/10/5 | Accepted: 2024/05/6 | Published: 2024/06/30
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