A/HRC/19/82 joint communication,17 expressed their concern at the imposition of the death penalty on two children, Fatemeh Salbehi and Rangraz Tabatabaa’ie. According to information received, Ms. Salbehi was 16 years old when arrested in relation to the murder of her husband. She was reportedly interrogated without the presence of a lawyer. The Fars Criminal Court convicted her of murder and subsequently sentenced her to death. The death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. Mr. Tabatabaa’ie was allegedly arrested on suspicion of lavat (sodomy) in 2007 at the age of 17. He had no access to a lawyer and his confession was allegedly obtained under torture, which the court used as basis for the ruling. The Fars Criminal Court sentenced Mr. Tabatabaa’ie to death for offences allegedly committed when he was a child. The Supreme Court has reportedly upheld the decision. Women’s rights D. 16. With regard to the Millennium Development Goals, the Islamic Republic of Iran has made notable progress under Goal 1 (to reduce extreme poverty), Goal 2 (to achieve universal education), Goal 4 (to reduce child mortality by half) and Goal 5 (to reduce maternal mortality by two-thirds). It has also made considerable progress in literacy, health and education indices for women under its national development plans introduced in 1989. The female to male ratio for literacy was found to be 0.88, while the ratio for females to males in tertiary education increased from 1.09 to 1.15 in 2009. Access to health services, including reproductive health services, has improved; cases of infant mortality decreased to 21 to 1,000, while the maternal morality ratio is 30 to 100,000. Births attended by skilled health staff rose from 90 per cent in 2007 to 97 per cent in 2011. Women account for 55 per cent of total staff members, and 71 per cent of staff in the nursing and midwifery sectors of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and affiliated organizations. Gender disparities, however, differ among geographic regions. 17. Despite the progress made in higher education and health, scarce job opportunities and concomitant cultural and religious norms restrict women’s employment. 18 According to the Human Development Report for 2011, the Islamic Republic of Iran ranks 98 out of 187 in gender inequality.19 Only 13 per cent of the workforce in paid positions are women. In March 2010, the estimated unemployment rate was 11.9 per cent, but 16.8 per cent for women. There are reportedly more women civil servants, although the private sector is still male-dominated. It is reported that women’s admission to higher education, at least in technical universities, has been recently restricted. Based on these restrictions, it is estimated that less than 32 per cent of admitted students are female (45 per cent in 20072008). If the decrease continues, women with higher education run the risk of having fewer opportunities for better paid jobs. 18. According to the Civil Code, the minimum age required for marriage is 13 years for girls and 15 years for boys. The Secretary-General is concerned at the low minimum age for girls, which is discriminatory and low by international standards. Iranian authorities claim, however, that, in practice, the age of marriage among boys and girls has risen and no one tends to marry under the age of 18. Nonetheless, marriages of girls under the age of 10 have been reported. On 24 December 2011, the Head of the General Documents Registration Department of Hormzgan reported that five girls under the age of 10 had been 17 18 19 A/HRC/18/51, p. 46. On 9 August 2011, Prosecutor General of Alberz Province stated that the recruitment of women employees pave the way for rape and kidnapping. Seewww.isna.ir/ISNA/NewsView.aspx?ID=News1823757. Human Development Report 2011, UNDP, 2011. Available from www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/hdr/human_developmentreport2011.html. 7