The Impacts of Economic Sanctions on Iranian Women
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THE IMPACTS OF ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ON IRANIAN WOMEN A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY EMİNE GÖZDE TOPRAK IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF MIDDLE EAST STUDIES DECEMBER 2020 Approval of the thesis: THE IMPACTS OF ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ON IRANIAN WOMEN submitted by EMİNE GÖZDE TOPRAK in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Middle East Studies, the Graduate School of Social Sciences of Middle East Technical University by, Prof. Dr. Yaşar KONDAKÇI Dean Graduate School of Social Sciences Assist. Prof. Dr. Derya Göçer Head of Department Middle East Studies Prof. Dr. Özlem Tür Küçükkaya Supervisor International Relations Examining Committee Members: Assist. Prof. Dr. Derya Göçer (Head of the Examining Committee) Middle East Technical University Middle East Studies Prof. Dr. Özlem Tür Küçükkaya (Supervisor) Middle East Technical University International Relations Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşe Ömür Atmaca Hacettepe University International Relations PLAGIARISM I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name: Emine Gözde Toprak Signature: iii ABSTRACT THE IMPACTS OF ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ON IRANIAN WOMEN Toprak, Emine Gözde M.S., The Department of Middle East Studies Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Özlem Tür December 2020, 113 pages This thesis aims to analyse the impact of unilateral and multilateral economic sanctions towards Iran upon the economic, political and social lives of Iranian women. It will reflect more on gender impacts of the sanctions instead of the impacts of these measures on state behaviour which is the much discussed aspects in the literature. This thesis problematized the economic sanctions implemented against Iran after 2010, and their effects. The gender impacts of the economic sanctions will be provided with general literature review of economic sanctions, Iran and feminist International Relations theory. Previous literatures demonstrate that women are affected by sanctions in different ways, and to different extents. This study argues sanctions beget women-specific effects in Iran, too. It additionally argues Iranian women are already in subordinated and unequal position because of their gender; sanctions deteriorated their situation at hand. This thesis shows that there is a strong causal relation between economic sanctions and deprivations experienced by Iranian women; and there found women specific effects of economic sanctions. Keywords: Economic sanctions, Iran, Iranian women, Gender. iv ÖZ EKONOMİK YAPTIRIMLARIN İRANLI KADINLAR ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİLERİ Toprak, Emine Gözde Yüksek Lisans, Orta Doğu Araştırmaları Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Özlem Tür Küçükkaya Aralık 2020, 113 sayfa Bu tezin amacı İran İslam Cumhuriyeti‘ne yönelik tek ve çok taraflı ekonomik yaptırımların İranlı kadınların ekonomik, siyasi ve sosyal yaşantıları üzerindeki etkilerini tahlil etmektir. Tez yaptırımların literatürde çoğunlukla ele alınan devlet davranışı üzerindeki etkisi yerine toplumsal cinsiyet etkisini tartışacaktır. Çalışmada İran‘a yönelik 2010 yılından sonra uygulanan ekonomik yaptırımlar problematize edilmiştir. Ekonomik yaptırımların İranlı kadınların ekonomik, siyasi ve sosyal yaşantıları üzerindeki etkileri genel bir literatür taramasıyla ortaya konulması amaçlanmıştır. Bu çalışma da yaptırımların İranlı kadınlara özgü etkileri olduğunu öne sürmüştür. Ayrıca İranlı kadınların cinsiyetleri nedeniyle hâlihazırda ikincil ve eşit olmayan bir konumda olduklarını ve ekonomik yaptırımların mevcut durumlarını daha da kötüleştirdiğini iddia etmiştir. Bu çalışma yaptırımların İran ekonomisi ve toplumun genel refahında neden olduğu hızlı çöküşün yarattığı dalgalanma etkisiyle kadınları ekonomik, siyasi ve sosyal yaşamda daha kırılgan ve savunmasız hale getirdiğini; ve kadınlara özgü etkilerinin bulunduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Anahtar Kelimeler: Ekonomik Yaptırımlar, İran, Kadın, Toplumsal Cinsiyet. v DEDICATION To my family vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all, I would like to thank and express my gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Özlem Tür Küçükkaya for her guidance and advice throughout the study. I would also like to thank my examining committee: Assist. Prof. Derya Göçer from Middle East Technical University and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşe Ömür ATMACA from Hacettepe University. Words are not enough to express my gratitude to my dad, Ömer Toprak, brothers, Emre and Mustafa, and to my beautiful mom, Mukadder. They are always the greatest supporter of me throughout my life. And my friends, who are no different than my family, I must thank them as well for their supports and inspirations that they had provided for me. I would like to give my special thanks to my beloved one for providing me unfailing support. This work is a special dedication to him. Without him, it would not be possible to complete this long and tough work. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ...................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ..........................................................................................................iv ÖZ ........................................................................................................................ v DEDICATION ......................................................................................................vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................xi LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. xii CHAPTERS 1.INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 1.1.Research Problem and Sources ..................................................................... 2 1.2.Limitations and Encountered Problems ......................................................... 3 1.3.Literature Review ......................................................................................... 3 1.4.Gender and Sanctions Analysis ..................................................................... 6 1.5.Structure of the Thesis .................................................................................. 9 2.ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ON SOCIETIES....11 2.1.Economic Effects ........................................................................................12 2.2.Social Effects ..............................................................................................13 2.3.Gendered Effects .........................................................................................18 3.HISTORY OF IRAN SANCTIONS REGIME ....................................................23 3.1.U.S. Sanctions .............................................................................................24 3.1.1.U.S. Sanction Phase 1: 1980-2000 .........................................................25 3.1.2.U.S. Sanction Phase 2: 2005-2015 .........................................................28 viii 3.1.3.U.S. Sanction Phase 3: 2018-2020......................................................... 30 3.1.4.Reasons of Sanctions against Iran.......................................................... 31 3.2.UN Sanctions .............................................................................................. 34 3.3.EU Sanctions .............................................................................................. 35 3.4.Macroeconomic Impacts of Economic Sanctions .......................................... 37 3.4.1.Gross Domestic Product (GDP)............................................................. 39 3.4.2.Real GDP Growth ................................................................................ 40 3.4.3.Iranian Rial and Inflation ...................................................................... 41 3.4.4.Foreign Trade Volume: Oil Export ........................................................ 42 3.4.5.Unemployment ..................................................................................... 45 3.5.The Socio-Economic Impacts of Economic Sanctions .................................. 46 3.5.1.Poverty................................................................................................. 46 3.5.2.Health .................................................................................................. 47 3.5.3.Collateral Effects .................................................................................. 49 4.IRANIAN WOMEN UNDER ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ................................. 52 4.1. Iranian Women‘s Economic Profile under the Economic Sanctions .............. 53 4.1.1.Iranian Women in Informal Economy under Sanctions........................... 59 4.1.2.Female-Headed Households under Sanctions ......................................... 60 4.2.The Women‘s Movements under Economic Sanctions.................................. 61 4.3.The Impact of Economic Sanctions on Family Dynamics ............................