'It is clearly stipulated in the Qur'an that women get half the blood money'
Tehran - Iranian women began talks with Islamic clerics on Tuesday to demand that "blood money" compensation for a murdered woman should equal that of a man.
Under Iran's strict Shi'ite interpretation of Islam, compensation for the loss of a woman's life is half of that paid for a murdered man.
"We have sent letters to high-ranking clerics... to have their opinions on equal blood money for a Muslim man and a Muslim woman," said female parliamentarian Akram Mosavarimanesh.
A proposal to make compensation for families of murdered non-Muslims equal to that offered to Muslims has given the "blood money" debate fresh impetus, said the group of women parliamentarians campaigning for the change.
Iran's penal code has kept an old Islamic definition of "blood money" as the following: 100 camels, 200 cows, 1 000 sheep, 200 silk dresses, 1 000 gold coins or 10 000 silver coins. But authorities have set cash equivalents to simplify matters.
Iran's judiciary has set the amount that a killer can pay to his victim's family to avoid execution at a flat 150 million rials (almost R200 000) for a murdered man, and half of that for a woman.
Changing the legislation is a sensitive issue in Iran where all laws must be in accordance with Islamic principles.
"Some preparations have been made to get it approved, but it is clearly stipulated in the Qur'an that women get half the blood money," a high-ranking cleric said.
'By participating in society women have changed the economic conditions of their families'
Hardline clerics' objections also stem from men's traditional role as breadwinners, meaning that the death of a man inflicts a greater financial burden on the family.
But Iranian women, who enjoy better rights than in many other Middle Eastern countries, are now active members of the workforce, filling many senior public and private-sector positions.
"By participating in society women have changed the economic conditions of their families. Most of them are responsible for covering family expenses," said Fatameh Rakei, head of the parliament's committee on women's issues.
Ayatollah Youssef Sanei, a cleric empowered to issue religious decrees, in 2001 openly supported the concept of equal blood money.
"Blood money is the price of a human life and the essence of life is driven from the soul," he said in the holy city of Qom. "The soul that God gave women is no less than the soul God gave men."
If the proposal is approved by parliament it must then be sent to the hardline Guardian Council, which is responsible for ensuring that legislation conforms with Islamic sharia law.
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