Concurrent celebrations of the National Day of Seafarer and World Maritime Day took place in the IRIB International Conference Center, dated 11 August 2019. The Minister of Roads and Urban Development, the chairman and members of the managing authority of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, the head of the Iran Fisheries Organization, the head of the Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science, the commanders and deputies from the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as well as the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, the members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the head of the Maritime Fractions of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the senior managers and experts from the Marine Corps Headquarters, as well as seafarers from seven coastal provinces attended the ceremony. At the ceremony, the nation's top 36 seafarers and marine researchers in 2019 were honored. Among them, Dr. Fereidoun Aoufi was honored as the nation's premier marine researcher for three decades
of research and work on the development of marine and ecological sciences. Gender equality and equal status of women in maritime community are among the most important goals of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to achieve the goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In this regard, the developed programs should be implemented by 2030. So, "Empowering Women in the Maritime Community" has been selected as the World Maritime Day theme for 2019. Also, "Marine Development of the Country by Creating Equal Employment Opportunities" has been selected as the National Maritime Day theme for 2019 – 2020 by the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran. In this regard, on the occasion of the National Day of Seafarer and World Maritime Day, a special issue of the Port and the Sea Magazine was published with a series of articles on the role and position of women in the maritime industry. "The Road to Crossing Four Decades of Axis Man" is published in this issue.Dr. Mahnaz Rabbani's article with the title of "Reasons for Strengthening the
Role and Participation of Women in the Maritime Industry and Marine Sciences: The Way to Cross Four Decades of Male Domination" was published in this issue.