Social Insurance for Women Heads of Household

Women heads of household are women who for various reasons of divorce, death or the sickness of their spouse are responsible for their children all by themselves and they try to fill the shortage of the father of the house. Women heads of household have many problems and because these individuals have the most interaction with children, their income and economic problems result in cultural and social problems and it affects the whole of the family.

With a glancing look at statistics we notice that in a ten-year period (from 1996 to 2006) the number of women heads of household has had an approximate increase of 39 percent. Whereas in a five-year period (from 2006 to 2011) there has been an increase of 53 percent. It is estimated that in view of the rise in the number of divorces and high traffic accident figures, diseases and aging of society, the number of women heads of household will have a sharp rise. Today there are approximately 3.5 million women heads of household in Iran.

The most important concerns of women heads of household is not having a job, housing, the sales market and sick members of the family and the negative view of society towards divorced women, which has caused many women to age before their time and be faced with further damages. Therefore, this group of women need the serious support of the authorities. In other words, supporting these women in a functioning system requires welfare and social security.

The vice-president of the Parliament’s Women’s Fraction said that with all the efforts that have been made by the Women’s Fraction and women members of the Integration Commission, this Commission passed a bill on the basis of which 0.05 percent of the provinces’ credits will be allocated to the women and family bureaus of each province towards supporting women, their empowerment and creation of jobs. Also in another bill it was established that 230 billion toomans (2.3 trillion Rials) should be allocated for the insurance of women heads of household and requires a coverage by the Aid Committee and the Welfare Organization.

This bill is with a priority to women heads of household and their employment and housing and also families covered by the Aid Committee, and will be towards job creation and strengthening of the family. By trying to pass this bill Members of Parliament are trying to create better conditions for these women.

Some of the supportive measures of the Welfare Organization for women heads of household include, payment of employment facilities, health insurance, assistance to education costs for the children, giving monthly retirement benefits and skills training for entering the job market, and the ultimate goal of the Welfare Organization is the empowerment of women and their removal from the support cycle so that they can independently be active in the job market.

Since there are no bodies or organizations that comprehensively have the responsibility of this vulnerable group of society, through the adoption of a bill Members of Parliament are trying to find solutions for the social insurance to insure women heads of household. Through the moral and material support of this group of society the spread of social damages can be prevented.

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