A Jurisprudential Analysis of the Necessity of Revising Article 18, Paragraph 3 of the Passport Law Regarding Elite Women

According to Paragraph 3 of Article 18 of the Passport Law, all married women are required to obtain their husband's consent in order to receive a passport and consequently to leave the country. However, this law has, in many cases, led to restrictions and deprivations for a segment of women in society—namely, elite women—which have resulted in adverse consequences not only for these women but for society as a whole.



Considering the necessity of assessing the feasibility of amending and revising this law in relation to elite women, and given the jurisprudential basis of statutory laws in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the present article, using a descriptive-analytical method, addresses the social imperatives of revisiting Paragraph 3 of Article 18 of the Passport Law as it pertains to elite women.



The findings of this research indicate that the necessity of revising the mentioned law with regard to elite women can be examined from several perspectives: first, from the perspective of travel as a religious obligation; second, from the viewpoint of changing circumstances over time; third, considering the application of secondary legal principles; and fourth, in terms of prioritizing public interest.



Therefore, with respect to this group of women, it seems more appropriate that instead of a passport, a temporary travel document be issued—one that, on the one hand, does not require the formalities of passport issuance such as spousal consent, and on the other hand, due to its short-term validity, merely enables participation in the specific international event in question.