For many Iranian Women, losing a job or failing to find sustainable employment is not just about being unemployed; it marks the beginning of a cycle of economic insecurity, temporary labor, and physical burnout. In recent years, alongside the worsening cost-of-living crisis, rising inflation, and shrinking stable job opportunities, more Iranian Women have been forced into jobs that lack job security, insurance, legal protections, and even any guarantee of continuing work in the months ahead.
In such conditions, many women entering the workforce actually have no choice but to work due to economic pressure and declining household income. For these women, choosing a career gradually gives way to a sheer desperate need to earn an income, an income that often comes with long hours, physical burnout, and the deprivation of even the most basic labor rights.
This situation is not limited to women working in factories or manufacturing units. In the country’s underprivileged regions, women who were previously homemakers or searching for stable jobs have now been pushed into seasonal, backbreaking agricultural labor, work that, rather than being a sign of economic empowerment, reflects the deepening cost-of-living crisis within families.
According to the Statistical Center of Iran in the spring of 2026, Kurdistan Province, with a misery index of over 111 percent, and West Azerbaijan, with an index of around 104 percent, were among the provinces with the highest misery indices. This index, which combines inflation and unemployment rates, highlights the simultaneous pressure of rising prices and limited job opportunities on households.
A report from the cities of Saqqez and Bukan, in the Kurdish-populated regions of western Iran, offers a clear picture of this reality: women who set out for the fields before sunrise, work for hours in the summer heat, and then return home to shoulder the burden of domestic chores and family care. They are not only invisible in the formal labor market, but a major portion of their work goes entirely uncounted in economic calculations.
Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan provinces are striking examples of regions where economic pressure is palpably felt. Their placement among the areas with the highest misery indices points to the simultaneous strain of unemployment and inflation, two factors that directly impact low-income households and push family members, particularly women, into temporary and seasonal labor.
Below are the accounts of three such women, published on the state-run Eqtesad 24 website on August 26, 2026:
A Day That Begins at 3 AM
Maryam, 40, is one of the women who spent almost the entire harvest season working in the fields. She says that a single income is no longer enough to cover living expenses, forcing families to send every capable member into the workforce.
“One of my kids is studying for the university entrance exam,” she says. “The cost of living has skyrocketed. No matter how much my husband works, we still fall short. That’s why I had no choice but to start working, too.”
Maryam’s husband also speaks of their grueling daily routine: “Our day starts around three in the morning. Preparing food, packing our things, and getting to the shuttle is a routine my wife and I go through before sunrise.”
According to him, the workers get on the shuttle around four in the morning and reach the fields after a long commute. Work begins in the morning and continues until evening, a long day broken only by brief meal breaks.
He describes his and his wife’s situation like this: “With this kind of workload, we have no patience or energy left to even talk, let alone how worn out our bodies are.”
The Shift That Never Ends
Yet, the end of field work does not mean the end of the workday for these women. Many female seasonal workers step straight into a second shift upon returning home, an unpaid shift that includes cooking, cleaning, caring for children, and preparing for the next day.
Nasrin is one of these women. Describing the hours after returning from the fields, she says: “When I get home, the kids are waiting. I have to cook dinner, handle the housework, and get ready for tomorrow. Most of the time, I’m so exhausted I just want to fall asleep, but I simply can’t.”
This situation is a clear example of what social studies refer to as the “double burden” on women, women who work outside the home to generate income while also carrying the main responsibility for domestic duties.
In many low-income families, an increase in the number of working members does not necessarily translate into improved well-being. In practice, the surging costs of food, healthcare, education, and housing have forced families to work longer hours and send more members into the workforce simply to maintain a bare minimum standard of living.
Working With the Body, Not at a Desk
Working in chickpea fields and with other agricultural crops is heavy, exhausting labor. Hours of bending over, walking under the sun, carrying the harvest, and working non-stop take a massive physical toll on the workers.
Shirin, who has worked in this sector for years, says: “You only realize how hard the work is when you’ve been out in the fields for a few days in a row. You leave early in the morning and come back in the evening. Your whole body aches, but if you miss even one day, you lose that day’s wages.”
Because their income depends entirely on showing up to work every single day, many Iranian Women are deprived of any chance to take time off or rest. For these women, a single sick day or a day of rest can mean losing a crucial part of the family’s essential income.
The Gap Between Nominal Wages and Real Income
Based on accounts from local workers, daily wages during the harvest season may seem significant at first glance, but a major portion of that money goes toward commuting costs, payments to labor contractors, and buying food.
Sara, who works in these fields, says part of the daily wage is deducted for shuttle transport and secondary expenses. As a result, the amount of money a worker actually takes home at the end of the day falls far short of the advertised rate.
This gap between nominal wages and real income becomes even more critical in an inflationary environment, as even a relative increase in wages does not necessarily lead to an improvement in a household’s living conditions.
The Road: The Danger Before the Work Even Begins
The hardship of this work isn’t confined to the fields. Many seasonal workers are forced to commute long distances in the pre-dawn darkness just to reach their job sites. The exhaustion built up from daily commutes, long travel distances, and poor transportation conditions are all part of the hidden risks of this type of employment, hazards that are rarely reflected in official stats and reports.
The True Face of Women’s Economic Participation
The story of the women of Saqqez and Bukan shows that the increased presence of women in the labor market, in today’s Iranian society under the rule of corrupt mullahs, does not mean expanding opportunities or improving their status. This presence is the direct result of economic pressure, inflation, the spread of poverty, and the declining livelihood capacity of families.
Women who start their day at three or four in the morning, work for hours under the sun, and still shoulder household responsibilities after returning home are, in reality, paying the price of the economic crisis with their health, time, and physical burnout.
What remains largely unseen amidst all this is the urgent need of Iranian Women for sustainable employment, legal protections, insurance, job security, and a wage that can provide them with at least a dignified life without imposing such a heavy burden.
Perhaps the most important message of this narrative is that a rising number of working women under such conditions is an alarm bell signaling the deepening cost-of-living crisis and the spread of poverty among Iranian families, a crisis in which Iranian Women are often the first victims and the last to have their voices heard.
