| Prohibition of veiling for women. In spite of the Westernizing spirit of this measure, Riza Shah's government never envisioned complete equality between the sexes. Women remained legally inferior to men in several respects. By law the head of the household was the husband, who enjoyed custody of the family's children. Women continued to receive smaller inheritance shares than their male counterparts. A man had the right to marry up to four wives (provided he had the means to support all of them on equal terms), whereas a woman could take only one husband. A man also had the right to divorce at will, without justification. Divorce was available to women only on special grounds. Moreover, women were not eligible to vote or hold public office. | 1 |
