Tehran, August 1, The Iran Project - Some 47,000 female employees have been dismissed after taking maternity leave, the deputy director of the Social Security Organization said.

The deputy director of the Social Security Organization, Mohammad Hassan Zoda, said on Saturday that some 47,000 female employees have been dismissed after taking a six-month maternity leave over a period of 18 months, since due to the labor market conditions, many educated people are willing to work for low wages.

We have been corresponding with the government about the financial resources needed to enforce the maternity leave law, but no credit has been allocated to the organization yet to increase the duration of maternity leave, Mohammad Hassan Zoda stated.

He added if the financial resources are provided for the Social Security Organization, about 160 thousand female employees can enjoy nine-month maternity leave every year.