Every Home a Workplace, Every Workplace a Home
The 22nd of Ordibehesht in Iran’s official calendar has been designated as the National Day of Home-Based Businesses and Family-Oriented Production — a day dedicated to recognizing the important role of families, especially women, in production and income generation through home-based work.
This day is observed with the aim of supporting small businesses, reducing unemployment, and strengthening household economies. Activities such as handicrafts, artistic production, food products, and home services are among the occupations that can be carried out within the home environment and contribute to the economic independence of families.
Problems of Home-Based Businesses During War
During the current war involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, thousands of home-based businesses and small enterprises faced serious damage. According to the Welfare Organization, 2,975 workshops and employment projects belonging to supported individuals were damaged, of which 635 suffered more than 50 percent destruction.
In addition, the widespread internet shutdown lasting more than 60 days caused more than one million internet-based jobs and a large portion of home businesses — especially those managed by women — to fall into recession or shut down completely. According to the Chamber of Commerce, 63 percent of small businesses faced severe liquidity shortages.
The Vice Presidency for Women and Family Affairs also announced that because many home-based occupations operate informally, there are no precise statistics regarding the losses. However, around 70 percent of these businesses are managed by women, and restrictions on internet access and online markets have caused severe economic harm to them.
Economic experts believe that the development of home-based businesses is impossible without infrastructure such as stable internet access, easy access to low-interest loans, job insurance, digital marketing training, and support for online sales. Although a large portion of home-based occupations — especially for women — depends on virtual platforms, the ceiling for small and home-business employment facilities in the 2026 budget remained unchanged from the previous year at around 100 billion rials, a figure that does not correspond to the scale of the damages and the actual needs of this sector.
According to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, employment and earning an income are among the rights of citizens, and the government is obligated to create job opportunities, insurance coverage, and social support for workers, including those engaged in home-based businesses. Nevertheless, a large part of home-based employment in Iran remains informal, and many workers — especially women active in handicrafts, carpet weaving, and online sales — are deprived of insurance, retirement benefits, and legal protections, a situation that has paved the way for economic exploitation.
Furthermore, supervision of home-based businesses should only take place within the framework of labor standards, not through interference in people’s privacy and lifestyles. However, reports indicate that some restrictions and confrontations have gone beyond occupational supervision and have turned into tools of social control.
Also, with reference to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, especially:
- Article 23: the right to job security,
- Article 2: equal enjoyment of rights without discrimination,
- Article 25: the right to food, housing, medical care, and necessary social services for everyone,
and with emphasis on the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals of UNESCO’s 2030 Agenda, particularly:
- Goal 8: promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all,
- Goal 5: achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls,
we strongly condemn the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the difficult living conditions faced by people, especially workers and home-based business activists, including widespread human rights violations, complete internet shutdowns, arrests, torture, immediate executions under the pretext of war, the presence of foreign forces in cities, and the destruction of the national economy.
We call for adherence to international commitments, effective support for home-based workers, compensation for damages, and the implementation of transparent policies for rebuilding the economy and labor market.
Defense of Human Rights Association in Iran
Defense of Work and Workers Rights Committee
Translated by Alireza Jahan Bin
