"The Iranian parliament has rejected by a big majority a bill which would
have allowed women the same inheritance rights as men.

A conservative deputy Mohammad Reza Faaker said the proposal was contrary
to Islamic law, which stipulated that a woman's share could be
only half that of a man.

The BBC Iranian Affairs correspondent says the vote comes as a big
disappointment to women's groups which have been conducting a long
campaign to have the inheritance law changed.

Our correspondent says women have achieved changes in other areas in recent
years, however, including a ruling last year which increased
women's rights to custody of their children after a divorce."