Ebtekar: There are Juridical Ambiguities Regarding the Assignment of Certain Positions to Women

Masoumeh Ebtekar, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, states that there are still "sensitivities" and "juridical ambiguities" regarding women's presence in certain positions within the Islamic Republic. In an interview with ILNA news agency, she linked the absence of female ministers in Iran to the lack of "sufficient grounds for the presence of a female minister." Ebtekar referred to the existence of "glass ceilings" for women's participation in certain roles, adding that "it cannot be explicitly stated whether there is a prohibition in jurisprudence or Sharia regarding this matter." She referenced her own management experience in the Islamic Republic, noting that when she was first appointed as Vice President during the reformist period, the question arose about its juridical legitimacy, but no cleric claimed it was problematic from a jurisprudential perspective. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi was the only female health minister in Iran's history and the only woman to have held a ministerial position during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, facing opposition from clerics like Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpayegani and Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi. Before the 1979 revolution, Farokhroo Parsa and Mahnaz Afkhami were two women who held the positions of Minister of Education and Minister of Women's Affairs, respectively. Despite women being a significant part of Hassan Rouhani's support base during his two administrations, no ministerial positions were allocated to them. In August 2017, while defending his proposed ministers in parliament, Rouhani expressed his desire to introduce three women as ministers, having already considered their qualifications and positions, but this did not materialize. Ebtekar justified Rouhani's actions by stating, "We want capable managers... we do not want a woman to be placed in a position where she lacks the necessary skills and capacity for management, as it would create issues for the government and for women." According to the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, "good changes have occurred in the provinces, and many women have been appointed as district governors, in provincial governorships, and as provincial directors. If Mr. Rouhani could not select a female minister, we currently have 28 deputy ministers and equivalents in the government." Ebtekar noted a "16.5% increase" in the presence of female managers over the past year, indicating the highest growth of women's presence in management at "basic, intermediate, and senior levels," and added that "it seems the situation has improved (in this regard compared to the past)." However, she acknowledged that "40%" of government employees are women but admitted that "the percentage of women's presence at various levels in decision-making and policymaking centers is not very high." Ebtekar also described Rouhani's attitude towards women's political participation as "positive," adding that "all the women who have been present in all governments were not merely window dressing, even in the ninth and tenth administrations." Despite not appointing a female minister for his second cabinet, Rouhani appointed three women to his deputy and assistant positions: Masoumeh Ebtekar as Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Laya Joneidi as Vice President for Legal Affairs, and Shahindokht Molaverdi as Assistant to the President for Citizen's Rights, with Molaverdi being removed from the government following the enactment of a law prohibiting the employment of retirees. In the eleventh government, Ebtekar was the head of the Department of Environment, and Elham Aminzadeh held the position of Assistant for Citizen's Rights. In Iran, despite women's demands for more serious political and social participation, both written and unwritten cultural and legal barriers continue to hinder their entry into the power structure of the Islamic Republic. Nevertheless, due to lifestyle changes and higher education, a significant number of women in Iran have become much more active in social arenas than in the past.