Abstract
Some gender scholars who have studied Western welfare regimes have argued that
dominant cultural assumptions about women (ideational forces) should be examined in
order to understand the development of these regimes. On the other hand, gender scholars
working on Iran’s social policy argue that religious assumptions and institutions have
shaped the position of women in Iran’s welfare regime. However, none of these
researchers have thoroughly and explicitly examined the role of ideas in the development
of Iran’s social policy. In contrast, this thesis studies the role of ideational forces in the
formation of the only Iranian social assistance program designed exclusively for women,
Empowering Women Without Guardians (EWWG). It also examines the connection of
these forces to non-ideational factors in order to further elucidate their impact on
policymaking. As argued, multiple cultural assumptions influence policymaking on
women’s issues in Iran. Traditional cultural assumptions reinforce and legitimize the
unequal position of women in society, whereas reformist and secularist ideas assume that
men and women are equal. As claimed, the interaction of these assumptions with
institutional and structural forces empowers some of these ideas over others at different
stages of policymaking regarding the formation of EWWG: Iran’s laws (institutional
forces) have reinforced previously dominant traditional assumptions about women
(ideational forces) in the problem stream; in contrast, reformist interpretations of
structural factors challenged previously prevailing traditional ideas and resulted in the
adoption of a policy, which is more consistent with reformist and secularist ideas. The
relative power of these assumptions helps explain both policy continuity and change in
Iran’s context of policymaking on women’s issues.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:USASK/oai:ecommons.usask.ca:10388/ETD-2012-09-663 |
| Date | 2012 September 1900 |
| Source Sets | University of Saskatchewan Library |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, thesis |
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