Female Heads of Household and Their Untold Struggles

When discussing female heads of household, several key groups come to mind: widows, divorcees, the wives of addicted men, the spouses of incarcerated individuals, the wives of migrant workers, single self-sustaining women, and the wives of disabled or incapacitated men. All these women are compelled to support and manage their families. Meanwhile, the laws of the clerical regime in Iran officially categorize them as second-class citizens, existing solely to serve men. As a result, experts have long been highlighting the feminization of poverty in Iran.Female Heads of Household: The Poorest BreadwinnersAccording to the National Statistics Center of Iran (NSC), there were nearly 4 million female heads of household in Iran in 2020. (mokhaberatema.ir, October 20, 2021)The latest NSC report on household expenses and income for the year 2020 indicates that out of a total of 25,685,000 heads of household in the country, 3,517,000 were women. Notably, of these 3.5 million female heads of household, nearly 1.5 million were single self-sustaining women (living alone). In other words, approximately 13.7% of all heads of household in Iran are women, and about 41.5% of these women live independently. (mashreghnews.ir, April 9, 2022)Nearly half of the female breadwinners belong to the poorest segments of society. According to official statistics, within the lowest income decile (the poorest), about 45% of heads of household are women. (salamatnews.com, October 20, 2021)It is important to note that the Iranian regime lacks transparency regarding statistics. It must be assumed that the actual figures are significantly higher than those published by the NSC. For example, Ensieh Khazali, the former deputy for women’s and family affairs, stated in June 2022 that “unofficial statistics indicate that we have nearly 6 million female heads of household.” Before her, Tayebeh Siavoshi, a former member of the regime’s parliament, had indicated that the number could vary and reach up to 5 million. (ICANA.ir, August 7, 2017)Support the show