TEHRAN – The 1st Congress of Women Entrepreneurs was held here last week at the National Iranian Steel Company.

“Women should receive their rights and shares in privatization and I will defend the case” Ali Akbar Mehrabian, Iranian Minister of Mines and Industries emphasized in his speech.
The greatest dilemma for Iranian officials is the creation of stable employment and the evolution of a movement which will lead to the eradication of unemployment in the country, he added.
Women are not receiving an equitable share in the entrepreneurship sector, he said, adding “One of the best ways to achieve this end is for them to organize themselves using their own abilities in this sector, and if we encourage them to take charge of their own employment, definitely a large part of the problem will be solved.”
One of the strategies for achieving this aim is to amend the laws and regulations of women’s jobs to fit in with their life situations, he said, noting that “women have to accomplish many duties just like their male counterparts, but the laws regulating labor are adjusted to accommodate men’s situations rather than women’s.”
Speaking about women’s working conditions, Mehrabian stressed that more participation on the part of women is observed when their working environment is both culturally and economically healthy, and that such an atmosphere contributes to women’s wellbeing.
The secretariat of the congress had received more than 50 papers from entrepreneur women form all around Iran, Soraya Zafari, Iranian advisor in women’s affairs said, adding 45 entrepreneur women were elected in the industry and mines sector and the woman who received the most votes came from the deprived province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
MZ/MA