30% Participation of Women in Political Management: Promise or Law?

"Did you not pressure every day for women's employment to be halted? Look back at the decrees you issued once again. Our record is clear. Our goal is completely obvious. We do not accept gender discrimination." This is part of Hassan Rouhani's remarks during his election campaign; statements that created the impression among women that there would be a serious change in the status of women during Rouhani's next presidency, in which women played an undeniable role. Simultaneously, Shahindokht Molaverdi, former Deputy for Women's Affairs under Rouhani, repeatedly emphasized his view on women's employment and its increase. After the start of the twelfth government, the promise of 30% female participation in the country's management was added to these statements; a promise that became less significant with the absence of any female ministers in the cabinet. Masoumeh Ebtekar, Rouhani's new Deputy for Women's Affairs, has also spoken on this issue several times in her short time in office. According to Shahindokht Molaverdi, by the end of Rouhani's first term, women held 22% of government management positions, and only an 8% gap remains to reach the 30% threshold set in the sixth development plan. Nevertheless, the absence of any women as ministers in the twelfth cabinet raised the question of whether there are enough capable female politicians in the Islamic Republic for the president to increase women's political participation to 30%. Ahmad Alavi, an economics professor in Sweden, states that if women's appointments in Iran are to change, groundwork must first be laid so that women can qualify for these positions, perhaps through specific training or finding jobs where they can be effective. Simply changing regulations cannot have positive effects, as many women might obtain jobs but the quality of their work might not meet expectations, leading to negative outcomes. In addition to work quality or regulatory changes, there must be alternatives that can positively impact efficiency. One cannot overlook efficiency and even acceptability in this process. Parvaneh Salahshouri, head of the Women’s Faction in Parliament, stated that in examining gender gap indicators, Iran ranks 139th out of 144 countries, worse than countries like Mali, Sudan, and Chad; meaning Iran's situation is even worse than Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in these indicators. According to Ms. Salahshouri, women, like men, are caught in the employment crisis, and the Women’s Faction in Parliament is seeking at least a 50% share for women in employment. Meanwhile, women's share of the Iranian labor market is 15%, while women make up 49% of the population, yet Iran ranks among the worst countries in the world for women's employment. Asieh Amini, a women’s rights activist living in Norway, states that the lack of infrastructure and the unpreparedness of a wide range of women to take on political responsibilities are weaknesses of Rouhani's first government: "The government's will to employ a significant portion of the gender potential in society, meaning attention to both men and women equally, should have manifested by now. The government had four years to implement the necessary groundwork for utilizing women in the country's management structure. We should now see the fruits of those four years in higher management areas that had been returned. Therefore, we are now faced with two issues: firstly, if this groundwork has not been done, if the women’s deputy offices currently present in our ministries have not been functioning properly, we must ask why? Even if we say to ignore the pre-eleventh government period, this government had four years to activate the deputy offices and bring them to fruition, and we should be benefiting from their results today. If this has not happened, we must ask why? If this has happened and the promise previously made by Mr. Rouhani regarding the use of women and youth in the government, and the expectations that existed in society, were continuously stated by the Women and Family Deputy, that at least two or three women should be in the cabinet, we must ask why? This indicates that this will is not seen in either situation." However, all of this does not create a justification for the current situation. According to the laws of the Islamic Republic, there is not only no prohibition against women reaching political positions, but in Article 3 of the Islamic Republic's Constitution, women and men are considered equal before the law. Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer residing in Tehran, considers the Constitution and electoral promises a burden on the president and states: "In the inauguration ceremony, the president explicitly states in his letter that he will safeguard the Constitution. Therefore, there is no excuse for evading this social and civil demand, which is at least a demand of half of Iran's population, in addition to the men who support this movement. Mr. Rouhani is expected to act on the promises based on which he was voted for. He should take effective steps in defense of the rights of minorities, as well as women and youth, and ethnic minorities, because these slogans garnered him twenty-four million votes." Law and electoral promises, on one hand, and various political factions on the other, are obstacles to women's placement in political participation. Ahmad Alavi states: "Let us remember that this governance is composed of various factions with differing views. I believe that instead of emphasizing policy change, which is important and should change, conditions should be created so that women, by becoming empowered, can participate widely in the labor market, including within the government structure. Because in that case, the regulations will also change. Naturally, when a majority or a large number of women are employed in the basic organizational ranks, policymaking will also change accordingly, and it is natural that women's participation will be broader than before. The previous problem was that they had only changed one variable, namely the policy variable. However, since women were not present in the labor market and their status in terms of quality or effectiveness was not observable, despite the policy change, this was not sustainably implemented, and we are facing a regression and a setback." Four years after Hassan Rouhani took office as president, the various promises in the area of women from him and the actual lack of practical will to fulfill these promises seem to gradually affect women's trust in him. Asieh Amini states: "If the government is genuinely concerned about addressing this need, I believe it is better to prioritize women's economic, social, and political participation for once. In the political equations where women's positions are always sacrificed, whether in the legal domain, management, or executive areas. For once, this priority should be given to women's issues. Officials should stand by their words, for example, by appointing a female minister, they should stand firm on giving high managerial positions to women, but this expectation was never met, and we still hear that these slogans continue, promises that show no will behind them continue. Honestly, I am not very optimistic about this issue..."