Women's Day marked with demonstration in Iran

Hundreds of Iranian women marked International Women's Day on Saturday with a demonstration demanding equal social and political rights to men, a first in this conservative male-dominated country since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The women, wearing the headscarves and long coats required by law, and a small group of men held a rally in a central Tehran park. Watching them was a large contingent of police -- including some 400 women who in January became the first females to undergo training to be officers since 1979.

"Half of the votes cast in favor of lawmakers were by women. How can you fail to recognize and support the rights of your wives, mothers and sisters? Why aren't women given top managerial or ministerial posts?" activist Zohreh Arzani asked the gathering

In the crowd, some women held up signs against violence by men -- and against a war on Iraq.

Many restrictions

Women have been strong supporters of Iran's reform movement seeking to change the Islamic government's tight social and political restrictions. While the reformist-dominated parliament lifted a ban on unmarried women studying abroad, other bills supporting women's rights have been rejected by the hard-line Guardian Council, which must approve all legislation before it becomes law.

Under the strict form of Islamic law used in Iran, a woman needs her husband's permission to work or travel abroad. A man's court testimony is considered twice as important as a woman's. Men can keep four spouses at once, a right not granted to women.

And while Iranian men can divorce almost at will, a woman seeking a divorce must go through a long legal battle .

In her speech, Arzani deplored Iran's failure to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

"Why has even the reformist-dominated parliament failed to debate and approve the convention?" Arzani asked amid the shrill whistles of girls at the rally.

'Beauty in Epaulets'

Russia observed the international holiday in its own way. Sixteen career soldiers competed for the chance to represent the Russian army, hurling grenades and firing rifles in the snow -- as well as strutting in evening gowns in honor of International Women's Day on Saturday.

The first annual "Beauty in Epaulets" contest, in which 90,000 servicewomen took part, was typical of the way the country celebrates the March 8 holiday. Originally conceived as an affirmation of women's liberation, the holiday in Russia has become a celebration of traditional femininity.

Designed, in the words of its organizers, to make military service more "attractive," the army's contest saw 16 finalists, ranging from privates to captains, perform song and dance routines and sport evening dresses Friday. Earlier in the week, contestants donned combat boots and fatigues, posed on tanks and showed off their skills on the firing range.

Women's Day was invented by feminists in the early 20th century to celebrate female advancement. In the Soviet Union, the holiday honored women's contributions to building socialism and included official tributes to peasants and workers.

Stripped of its revolutionary connotations, the holiday remains a kind of Russian Valentine's Day, when men bestow flowers, chocolates, and phone calls on their wives, girlfriends, and mothers.

In a rare departure from the usual tone of the holiday, President Vladimir Putin called this week for greater representation of women in politics and said Russia was lagging behind the rest of Europe in this area.

Putin cited statistics that show women make up 50 percent of government workers but only 7 percent are in decision-making positions. He added that women make up only around 7 percent of lawmakers in both houses of parliament, and are not represented at all in a third of regional legislatures.