Agents of change or agents of the status quo: Iranian lawyers' approaches to women seeking divorce in the context of discriminatory divorce law
Date
2023
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Since the 1979 revolution in Iran, the state has relegated women to a subordinate position, treating them as second-class citizens. Existing literature on women’s rights in Iran predominantly focuses on elucidating the role of the revolutionary state in oppressing women, and the resilience of women’s movements in combating discriminatory state policies. However, there remains a significant gap in understanding how Iranian lawyers, as distinct agents from other social activists, contribute to or resist gender inequality through legal means such as asserting rights, individual litigation, or providing legal counseling and services. This gap extends beyond the Iranian context, as the broader socio-legal literature has inadequately addressed the nuances of everyday practices of ordinary lawyers functioning within authoritarian regimes with civil law systems, and their impacts on the perpetuation and/or disruption of various forms of inequality, including gender inequality. To fill these gaps, this qualitative study investigates the strategies employed by Iranian family lawyers in cases of unilateral divorce initiated by women. By conducting interviews with a sample of family lawyers (n=30) and divorced women (n=30) in Iran, the study examines how lawyers, as distinct agents from other social actors, contribute to either destabilizing or reinforcing institutionalized gender inequality through their utilization of legal means within their everyday practices; how lawyers (re)shape the demands, expectations, and opportunities of their clients, shedding light on their role in influencing the decision-making process within the context of unilateral divorce; 3) and, ultimately, how lawyers reinforce and/or disrupt gender ideologies, particularly the gendered expectations imposed on married women. The findings of this study offer valuable insights into the role of everyday practices of non-cause lawyers in perpetuating or challenging gender inequality, as well as the factors that influence their approach to lawyering and legal mobilization, particularly when dealing with non-conventional and controversial cases. I propose a typology of non-cause lawyers, distinguishing between lawyers who adopt a semi-bystander role and lawyers who embrace an incrementalist approach. This typology provides an understanding of how professional responsibility is perceived, talked about, and acted upon within the legal profession in an understudied context. Furthermore, this typology classifies lawyers according to their perceptions of obstacles to legal mobilization and the viable approaches they identify for achieving reform within these constraints. Finally, my findings have significant implications for the women’s rights activists in Iran, suggesting that their efforts could also be directed towards educating lawyers dealing with cases that have consequences for women’s rights.
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Keywords
Divorce, Family law, Family lawyers, Iran, Women's rights