About 55 percent of all working women are active in private sector.

Women’s share of all employment opportunities over the past 40 years has been a meager 10 percent, advisor to Tehran’s Governor General, Rezvan Nayyeri, said.
According to ISNA, Nayyeri remarked that women comprise nearly half of the population, but account for only 12 percent of the economically active population.
“Some 9.4 percent of all employees are women. Still 39.5 percent of the working women are employed in public sector and 55 percent in private sector. About 4.9 percent of those in the public sector are high-ranking managers,“ she mentioned.
“Near 37.1 percent of those in the private sector work independently or are employers. Close to 4.9 percent of all working women are active in the cooperative sector.“
According to Nayyeri, surveys show that women employed in the services sector outnumber those active in other sectors, with medical treatment and education sectors having the largest number of female employees. “Over 65 percent of the Health Ministry’s workforce are women,“ she said.
“Nearly 22 percent of working women aged 10 and above are involved in agriculture, with the corresponding figure in Tehran recorded at 2.2 percent. About 30.6 percent of them work in industries. The figure is 36.4 percent in the capital.“
The 2003 unemployment rate for women was 20.4 percent nationwide and 27.2 percent in Tehran, she stated.
“Men constitute 10.7 percent of the unemployed in Tehran’s urban areas and 9 percent in rural districts. The figures are 26.8 and 11.7 percent for women respectively.“

Mahin Azima was born in 1929 in Tehran.
Being among the first 10 female graduates of Tehran University’s College of Fine Arts, Azima went to India two years later in 1956 to continue her studies in Indian painting at Visva-Bharati University founded by famous poet Rabindranath Tagore.
She then returned home and took on art teaching in Tehran’s high schools as her career. After eight years of instructing, Azima became the principal of Mahin High School founded by her mother.
In 1969, she developed a liking for stained glass work, followed by relevant studies in southern Khuzestan province. She organized her first solo exhibition in 1973 in Seyhoun Gallery, which was followed by 15 individual and group exhibitions in Iran, France, Yugoslavia, Belgium and Turkey in the ensuing years.
Two of her works are preserved in Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts, one in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, one in the private collection of Indian ex-premier, Indira Gandhi, 20 in the Iranology Foundation and two in the Glass Museum.
Azima is the wife of journalist and writer Masoud Barzin, and the mother of three children.
She has tried to use the reverse-glass painting technique. It is unique in the sense that the top layer finish is painted first, while the background and built-up colors come second. The technique gives depth and a three-dimensional effect to the final work.
Azima has also created magnificent chandeliers and mirror works in University of California, Berkeley.

Iranian women are always highlighted as the epitome of success in the region, head of Women Participation Center, Zahra Shojaei, said.
Speaking at the 23rd assembly of public relations director generals, Shojaei elaborated on the status of women during 1997-2004.
“The marriage to divorce ratio decreased during the seven-year period due to a rise in marriage age. Most divorce cases occurred in the first two years of married life mostly because of addiction and family problems,“ she said.
She recalled that the rate of women managers and high-level staffers reached 2.7 percent during the period, indicating a sixfold growth in managerial opportunities available to women compared to 1997.
Women’s unemployment rate was recorded twice as big as that of men, she said, adding the rise in the number of educated women necessitated creation of new job opportunities.
Shojaei, who is advisor to President Khatami on women’s affairs, said women’s income is way below that of men, despite the fact that they work harder than men, especially in rural areas. “The rate of women’s economic activities has not grown in recent years due to challenges facing those who want to enter the job market.“
Pointing to the improvement in political participation of women as indicated in the Majlis and city/village councils, the advisor regretted that women nominees for the upcoming presidential race had all been disqualified.
She called for a broad-based study on social disorders involving women including domestic violence, delinquency and moral issues.
The official insisted that in order to materialize the objectives of the fourth plan (2005-2010), the government should pay equal attention to the entire human resources; that is men and women.

Gilan Welfare DepartmentÕs Women and Family Office renders services such as social, cultural, mental and health counseling to 3,200 female-led households in the province.

A gathering dubbed “Women and Family“ was held in the northern city of Rasht, capital of the Caspian Gilan province last week.
An expert with Gilan Welfare Department’s Women and Family Office, Haleh Potki said on the sidelines of the event that praising exemplary women heading households, who are under protection of department, was part of the one-day ceremony.
“One woman from each provincial city was commended at the event,“ she said, mentioning personal achievements, successful children and a minimum five-year record of enjoying welfare services as the main criteria for the selection, IRNA quoted.
Potki enumerated granting self-employment loans, offering social, cultural, mental and health counseling, providing leisure time activities and training on life skills as the services rendered by the department to 3,200 female-led households in the province.
Meanwhile, deputy head of the department for rehabilitation affairs, Aqil Golipour, delivered a speech on the prominent role of women in the society, especially the heavy responsibility shouldered by single mothers and breadwinners under the present tough economic conditions.
He pointed to the establishment of the Welfare Ministry, and said well-targeted plans had been devised to meet the requirements of women-led households.
Welfare experts, managers of charity foundations and a number of women heading households were present at the gathering sponsored by Gilan Welfare Department.

The a stepped-up campaign by Tokyo train operators to protect women from gropers by increasing the number of women-only carriages is angering some male commuters.
Several of the Japanese capital’s railway companies introduced the single-sex carriages as part of a city effort to tackle the problem of men who take advantage of overcrowding to grope female passengers.
In a Tokyo survey last year, almost two-thirds of women aged between 20 and 40 said they had been groped on a train.
“We can’t do all that much about the crowding and this kind of crime is hard to prevent, even in cooperation with the police,“ said a spokesman for Odakyu Electric Railway.
“Passengers have also been asking for women-only carriages.“
Some men support the restrictions, which apply mostly during rush hour, but others have complained that reserving one carriage for women worsens overcrowding in the rest of the train.
“Women-only carriages are a form of discrimination against men,“ one opponent told the Asahi Shimbun daily.
The number of reported incidents of groping and sexual
assault leaped to 2,201 in 2004, the worst figure on record and three times the number in 1996.
“On the one hand, it could be the number of men engaging in such acts is increasing, but it could also be that women who once felt they had to suffer in silence now have the courage to speak out and complain,“ said a Tokyo city government official.
Some women had other reasons for preferring to travel
separately from men. “I didn’t like the smell of alcohol and cigarettes on the men,“ one satisfied female passenger told the Asahi Shimbun.

Watching the prayer beads in a shop in the city of Qom (Photo by Azita Pirnia)

Even though the number of pregnant women infected with AIDS is increasing, medical treatment centers refuse to provide them with proper healthcare services, ILNA quoted a member of the National AIDS Committee as saying.
Minou Mohraz added many clinics and health centers consider the disease as taboo and are afraid of giving these women the medical services they need out of ignorance.
“Only AIDS specialist clinics will admit such women and the other medical centers hardly provide them with any help,“ she said, insisting that timely diagnosis of AIDS in pregnant women and proper medical treatment can help prevent transmission of HIV virus from mother to the fetus. Mohraz explained that 65 percent of babies born to HIV-positive mothers are not infected.
In related news, faculty member of Shahid Beheshti University, Mahshid Mehdizadeh told IRNA, “Women in the childbearing age, particularly pregnant women, are most vulnerable to iron deficiency anemia.“
She warned that iron deficiency in pregnant women would increase the likelihood of maternal and infant mortality, and the risk of low birth weight.
She recommended that all pregnant women take iron supplements for their own and the baby’s health.
Mehdizadeh added iron deficiency anemia in infancy can be prevented through breastfeeding.

Iron is a mineral that helps build red blood cells, muscle proteins, and healthy bones. Most importantly, iron helps the blood cells carry the oxygen they need for energy.
During the teenage years, the need for iron increases. It is especially important for girls who have started menstruating. Getting the right amount of iron also improves performance in sports and in school.
Iron is measured in milligrams, and the amount you need will depend on your age, whether you or a guy or a girl, your particular body size and your lifestyle. In general, though, you can use these guidelines: Girls aged 9-13: 8 mg/day; Girls aged 14-18: 15 mg/day.
Anemia is a condition in which you don’t have enough red blood cells. The most common cause is not enough iron in your diet or losing iron because of heavy menstrual periods. With anemia, you may feel weak and tired a lot, and you may look pale. Your healthcare provider may recommend a multivitamin with iron if it looks like you are not getting enough. You are most at risk for anemia when you don’t eat enough foods rich in iron. If you are already anemic, your healthcare provider will probably suggest an iron supplement.
Check out the list of foods rich in iron. Use this list to bulk up on the iron-rich foods you eat, and to try new iron-rich foods. One important thing to know is that not all foods with iron are equal-- animal sources of iron (known as “heme“ iron) are used more easily by the body than plant sources of iron (known as “non-heme“ iron).
Foods high in vitamin C boost the body’s ability to use iron. Try adding foods like citrus fruits and juices, cantaloupe, strawberries, tomatoes, and dark green vegetables to the iron-rich foods already on your plate--you’ll boost both flavor and nutrition.
One last tip: When shopping, choose breads, cereals and pastas that say “enriched“ or “iron-fortified“ on the label. These foods have extra iron that can really boost your intake!
Food sources of iron include breads and cereals; meat, poultry, fish and eggs; dried beans and peas; dried fruits (peaches, apricots, raisins, almonds) and spinach.

Canada intends to fund a $5 million study to combat murder and rape of aboriginal women and help shape laws, police procedures, social services and public education, a native women’s group announced, Reuters reported.
More than 500 aboriginal women have disappeared or been killed in the last 20 years. While only 3 percent of female population in Canada, they represent 29 percent of women inmates in federal prisons, Canadian rights groups estimate.
“Young women leave the community and are never heard from again,“ said Sherry Lewis, executive director of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, who announced the project.
She told a news conference the study her group has designed would begin by documenting life histories to see “what trends emerge and what interventions we could put in place.“
Fred Caron, Canada’s assistant deputy minister for Indian
and Northern Affairs, said, “No amount of violence is acceptable. This is a serious issue and we are happy to take at least a first step in trying to remedy these problems.“
The United Nations was chosen as the venue for the announcement because of a conference of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Rodolfo Stavenhagen, a Mexican professor, who serves as the UN special rapporteur or investigator on indigenous people, said the specific needs of aboriginal women had been neglected too long and suicide rates, prostitution and child welfare problems were particularly prevalent in Canadian urban areas.
Of particular interest to Stavenhagen and Lewis were the Canadian tradition of “residential schools,“ formed as early as 1874, as boarding schools or hostels, mainly in conjunction with churches. Most were abolished by the mid-1970s, with seven remaining open in the 1980s and one until 1996.
Their objective was to prepare native children for life in a white society. But assimilation attempts for many meant physical and emotional abuse and discrimination along with the loss of their culture. “Identity loss has something to do with this,“ Stavenhagen said.