Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs Shahindokht Molaverdi said the government is determined to meet its objective of guaranteeing gender equality.
“The government seeks to establish equality and coordination among women’s multilateral roles,” she said addressing an Iran-Japan seminar on the theme of ‘Women, Peace and Sustainable Development’ at the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) in Tehran on Monday, IRNA reported.
Akie Abe, the wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was present at the seminar.
Women in all countries have key roles in promoting peace and sustainable development and therefore special attention should be paid to women’s issues, Abe said speaking on the sidelines of the seminar.
Commending the measures taken by the Iranian government in the field of women empowerment, she said, “I firmly believe that women’s position will be further strengthened in Iran as greater attention is being paid to promoting peace and sustainable development.”
Referring to Japan’s policy to facilitate married women with children to continue working, she said, “I believe that women shouldn’t work as hard as men, but should have opportunities to empower themselves in any situation.”
She expressed willingness to expand cooperation with Iran in the field of women empowerment.
Sustainable Livelihoods
Molaverdi further said “Today the world is focusing on ways to ensure that women have active and sustainable livelihoods in line with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
The government’s action to that end will lead to improvement in women’s situation and strengthening of families.
Global emphasis on the importance of women’s needs is an issue to which Iran attaches equal significance, she said, pointing to the election of 17 women in the incoming parliament.
The seminar was hosted by the Vice-Presidency for Women and Family Affairs in cooperation with the IPIS and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, founded by Ryoichi Sasakawa, (1899-1995,) a Japanese businessman, politician, and philanthropist.
Japanese Ambassador Koji Haneda, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi, and Maryam Imaniyeh, wife of Foreign Minister Javad Zarif were also present.
