A Case Study of Human Development Observing Islamic Standards in Iranian Society: Women’s Progress in Legal Professional Careers

Abstract

The pattern of human development in women’s affairs in a religious and revolutionary society such as Iran can be read as a model based on Islamic standards which may be considered restrictive by some. Legal affairs, both in legislative area and in legal educations and careers are good examples of this participation in a developing country. Women occupy an increasing number of job opportunities as judges, lawyers, advocates, and attorneys and a great percent of university students rush for legal educations. In this essay, we do not aim to speak merely by numbers and graphs, but to show that how the Islamic society can extend the field for women’s development and reconcile the value-driven public view with the social necessities. In this paper, based on a research program about HD in Iran, in addition to the documentary official statistics and social surveys, there will be an analysis regarding the qualitative growth of women’s conditions and the effect of their presence in legal areas on development at a large scale, considering three aspects of a) the effect on legislative power and parliamentary movements regarding the enactment of laws discussing women’s civil and social rights; b) a collectively flow toward institutionalization of women’s rights and for conceptualizing related rules; and c) different attempts with the purpose of promoting educational standards for women in contesting career fields.

Keywords: Human Development, Women, Legal Affairs, Iranian Society