TEHRAN – The Barekat Charity Foundation, affiliated to Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam, will carry out 4,000 plans to create sustainable jobs for female heads of households this year (began on March 21).

So far, 6,000 sustainable jobs have been generated for female heads of households, which led to the employment of 20,000 women, Seyyed Amir Hossein Madani, head of the Barakat Foundation said.

It is also expected that this year, 4,000 new job creation plans will be launched for this vulnerable group, he further stated, YJC reported on Saturday.

He went on to announce that this year, 2,000 new employment projects for persons with disabilities, 2,500 job generation projects for prisoners and their families, 2,000 plans for soldiers, and 2,000 for the families of martyrs will be implemented.

In Iran, there are 3 million women-headed households, out of a total of 22 million families, and most of the women breadwinners can be found in less developed areas of the country, according to the UNDP office in Iran.

Budget for women breadwinners up 50%

The budget for women and family affairs in the national budget bill for the current calendar year (starting on March 20), is equivalent to 37 trillion rials (nearly $880 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials).

Female-headed households’ share of the national budget accounts for 23 percent of the total credits for women and the family.

Supporting women heads of households in the form of insurance, services, and social support is another important issue, which accounts for 25 percent of the budget, which has grown by about 50 percent.

FB/MG