Children out of wedlock and birth registration obstacle in Iran Children deserve a fair life; they are vulnerable. Worldwide organizations are putting great efforts and are committed to protect children against hunger, disease, abuse, trafficking, abduction and many other risks. The Children’s Rights Convention prohibits discrimination against children and puts the burden on governments to ensure enforcement of children’s rights and prevent adoption of discriminatory laws. All children, regardless of their race, religion or nationality, are subject to this anti-discriminatory agenda. Nevertheless, legitimacy of a child is still a factor in determining social and legal rights in many countries, including Iran. In fact, illegitimate children are deprived of their fundamental rights because of the social denial. In Shiite jurisprudence, a child is considered illegitimate if born by adultery; such a relationship between a man and a woman is considered an illegitimate relationship and a crime in Iran, where Islamic (sharia) law is enforced. All Islamic schools of thought banishes illegitimate relationships and sentence it, and as a result a child born out of wedlock suffers a social stigma. Mother can obtain a birth certificate for an illegitimate child, but the child can only carry the mother’s last name unless she proves the legitimacy of her relationship to the child’s father and not necessarily a DNA examination makes a father responsible for the child interest. Iran civil code expressly states an illegitimate child will not be conjunct to the father; the child is not entitled to carry the father’s surname or to receive an inheritance or alimony. Modernization of the civil code and family law in many countries has eliminated illegitimacy concept, but in this trend the lack of a common accompaniment can be felt. Parents relation should not have any impact of child’s right for identity but yet the Issuance of a birth certificate for a child born out of wedlock in Iran is uncertain and depends on a Court decision and may endure punishment of parents for illegitimate relation. Iran is CRC member and enforcement of the CRC requires the removal of unfair and discriminatory acts and securing children’s rights in Iran. Drawing on my academic training as an attorney and my legal practice in Iran, I will examine discriminatory aspects of the law currently practiced in Iran and explore the ways in which the law negatively impacts every aspects of a child’s life- emotional, Social, financial, and legal.

From the launch of the national family planning program in 1964 (just eight years after independence) to the legalization of abortion in 1973 (without restriction as to reason in the first trimester) Tunisia’s policies and programs evince a longstanding national commitment to comprehensive reproductive health service delivery. Tunisia is widely regarded as a trailblazer in the developing world and exceptional within the Middle East and North Africa. The impact of this prioritization on reproductive health can be seen in Tunisia’s reproductive health indicators which are consistently the strongest in the region. Yet the election of Ennahda has sparked public debate about the future of reproductive health in Tunisia. To date, Ennahda has not enacted any legal or policy reforms regarding family planning, contraception, emergency contraception, or abortion. Indeed, that ulipristal acetate (a new pill-based form of post-coital contraception) is poised to enter the Tunisian market in 2014 through a regulatory approval process that took place after the November 2011 elections suggests that there is a continued structural commitment to reproductive health. However, rhetoric coming from Ennahda's leadership and the ongoing mobilization of Salafists are concerning for those advocating for the preservation of reproductive, sexual, and women's rights in Tunisia. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, including periods of community residence and participant observation and engagement from 1997 through 2014, this paper explores reproductive health and rights in Tunisia with a specific emphasis on the post-revolution period. Through an examination of the policies shaping access to reproductive health services, discursive frames employed in the new political environment, emerging efforts by different stakeholders to ensure the preservation of reproductive rights, and experiences of unmarried and married women, this paper sheds light on the complexities surrounding reproductive health in Tunisia. The findings indicate that even in the absence of regulatory or policy changes, the socio-cultural space created in the wake of the revolution has already shaped women's experiences and created new localized barriers to accessing certain services. The inter-linkages between law and policy, service delivery, community organizing, and individual experiences suggest that the upcoming national elections will prove a watershed moment in the trajectory of reproductive rights and this paper concludes with reflections on the implications of the election outcomes for reproductive health.