An Iranian woman applied for international protection in Finland on grounds of having been victim of gender-based violence by her father in her country of origin. Relying in Sections 87a(1), 88c and 88d of the Aliens Act, the Finnish Immigration Service assessed that the conditions for international protection were not met and that the reasons for persecution were not demonstrated. The Finnish Immigration Service considered that women in Iran did not constitute a particular social group in view of the situation in Iran.

The applicant appealed against this decision before the Administrative Court of Eastern Finland. The administrative court assessed whether the applicant's gender alone could be considered as a sufficient ground for examining whether she would belong to a particular social group in her country of origin, or whether some other characteristics were required in addition to gender to meet the required conditions for persecution.

The administrative court reviewed updated country of origin information (COI) available at the date of its decision and found that not all women in the country could be considered to belong to a particular social group solely on the basis of their gender. However, the court referred to the very serious situation of violence identified in the applicant's circumstances and affirmed that, in essence, the case involved gender-based violence, as a result of behaviour that deviated from the moral norms set by the prevailing religion and patriarchal circle of the applicant's country of origin. Thus, the administrative court found that women who behave in a manner that deviated from the moral norms set by the male members of a patriarchal family community based on Islam were to be considered to constitute a particular social group in Iran because the surrounding society perceived them as distinct from the rest of society.  

Consequently, by considering up-to-date COI and the complete account of the applicant's personal circumstances, the administrative court overturned the decision of the Finnish Immigration Service and referred the case back to the latter for the granting of refugee status.