Women's Expectations from Female Representatives in Parliament

If you recall, last week we discussed the presence of Iranian women in the tenth parliamentary elections and whether their presence in the Islamic Consultative Assembly can change laws in favor of women, which is the topic of today's discussion. I also asked you to share your opinions on this matter with us. We received dozens of messages, most of which indicated that you, the audience of the program 'Another Voice', believed that the presence of women in the Islamic Consultative Assembly would be detrimental to them. Only one of our listeners sent us a message stating that if Iranian women are given freedom, they can change their circumstances. However, as I mentioned, we had dozens of other messages opposing the presence of Iranian women in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, primarily focusing on the record of anti-women laws that have been passed in the last two terms of the Assembly. We are joined by Asieh Amini, a women's rights activist residing in Norway. Ms. Amini, what is your opinion? Do you also believe that due to the failure of female representatives in passing gender-equal laws, we should not vote for women anymore and prevent their entry into the Islamic Consultative Assembly? 'I must answer you in two stages. Firstly, it has not always been the case that women entering the Assembly have shown an anti-women record. We had representatives in the sixth and even the seventh Assembly who took steps in favor of women and raised women's issues as much as possible. That possibility was minimal. It was not the opportunity we expected from them. But at least we can say they did not have an anti-women performance, or they did not always have one. Therefore, to say that every woman who has entered the Assembly has ultimately harmed women seems to me to be an unfair and inaccurate statement. However, even if we refer to the fact that female representatives in the last two terms have performed in a way that has been detrimental to all women, concluding that it is better to vote for men instead of women leads us to the question of whether the performance of those men will be in favor of women. In my opinion, this is an equation full of unknowns that does not lead us to a conclusion because the issue has not been correctly framed. Instead of distinguishing between male and female representatives who have had anti-women performances, it is better to discuss the issue of anti-women behavior, the passing of anti-women laws, and the support for proposals and bills that have been detrimental to gender equality.' In support of your statements, I refer to one of the messages sent to us by one of the listeners of 'Another Voice'. They wrote: 'There is no difference between men and women. They approve a woman who is a thousand times more traditional than a traditional man. Just take a look at some of the anti-women laws passed in recent years to see that all those laws have been approved by women and the gentlemen have ratified them.' This was a message sent by one of the Radio Farda listeners for the program 'Another Voice'. But what guarantee is there that if the number of female representatives in the Assembly increases (a proposal that reformist women currently want to suggest), women from the Guardian Council will not be rejected who have no equality perspective on women's and men's issues and may even be the proponents of stricter laws against women, considering that with their increased numbers in the Assembly, they may be able to establish stronger foundations for passing their proposals? 'In response to the friend who raised the question, the fact that a gender composition from a specific ideology has entered the Assembly for two terms and their presence has been detrimental to women cannot lead us to conclude that we should object to the principle of this gender composition. Because this is a cornerstone. This is a structural issue. If we believe that gender equality should exist in all areas, politics is one of those areas. The second problem is what kind of women should enter. This is an issue that political groups need to think about. The reformists' decision to implement gender quotas for their candidates seems to me to be a strength. Other groups should think about this too. We can expect better performance from them by criticizing the performance of those women and emphasizing the role of public oversight, media, and women's rights activists. However, their presence in the Assembly does not solve our problem of obtaining better laws in favor of women. Better laws must be achieved with vigilance, oversight, and criticism; otherwise, if there are no women, we lose two issues. Firstly, the gender composition of the Assembly becomes unipolar and male. Secondly, there is no guarantee that those men will decide in favor of women. This is the record of this Assembly, not the record of the women of that Assembly.' Ms. Amini, given the activities currently taking place in the Assembly and the apparent shaping of alignments and groupings, what do you predict about the future number of women who will enter the tenth Assembly? Do you think, with the prevailing public atmosphere in Iran and the few active women currently working in political fields, we can hope to have as many as 25% of the total representatives in the Assembly as female candidates? 'In my opinion, there are women in Iran who are very thoughtful, very specialized, and very capable in decision-making, their expertise, management, and other issues. They are just not given the opportunity and possibility to participate. My hope is that more moderate and reformist groups will have the intelligence to seek out independent women and that people will show favor to them. In the competitive arena that currently exists within political groups in the country, I agree with you that there are not many women who can pass the Guardian Council's filter and reach the Assembly.' There are ten months left until the parliamentary elections, and during this time, we will again address the issue of women's presence in the Islamic Consultative Assembly in other programs. *** Here is one of the small stadiums in the Czech Republic that is hosting the players of the Iranian national volleyball team. In a friendly match against the national team of the Czech Republic, Iran is preparing for the World Volleyball Championship in the USA. In this small stadium, many Iranian women are also present, cheering for the Iranian national team. What I am experiencing now is completely different from the experience of Iranian women. They are not allowed to attend stadiums in Iran. But here, Iranian women, with or without hijab, are chanting 'Iran Iran' together. I am joined by one of the women who has come to the city of Příbram to cheer for the Iranian national volleyball team. Tell us about the atmosphere and the environment here: 'Well, now that I see, most of the audience is Czech. It can be said that a small group of Iranians is on one side of the stadium. Iranians are making so much noise. The Czech community is also a modest community, and they are different from us in these matters. I saw a very funny contrast from the beginning, that we, with our small and limited group, are making such a commotion while the Czechs are sitting modestly and watching.' What I am seeing now is that the number of women in the stadium is much higher than the number of men. In fact, the number of Iranian women present here is greater than the number of men. Do you think there are women outside Iran and Czech women who are interested in volleyball, or is there another factor that has led more women to come to the stadium? 'As a woman, I came here to have a special experience with my Iranian friends, which is cheering for the team. It is a good experience of being together for me.' You certainly know that Iranian women are not allowed to enter stadiums, and there are currently campaigns to obtain permission for Iranian women to enter volleyball stadiums. This was something that was previously possible but has been banned in Iran for a few years. Why do you think Iranian women cannot have the experience of being in such an environment? What danger do you think threatens you that makes you think that if you were in Iran, this danger could prevent you from going to the stadium and lead the authorities to ban your entry altogether? 'There are two things. One is the prohibition imposed by the ruling government, and the other is the prohibition that society itself imposes on women without the presence of the government. As a woman here, I am even experiencing a bit of this. When I pass by an Iranian man or someone who is a stranger to me, I unconsciously think about how this Iranian man looks at my attire. That means the lack of security from the men of my society has been internalized in me. This is a fundamental problem that I cannot only talk about the government and its functions. This is a social issue that must start to be resolved within families. From the moment I enter school, this mindset is imposed on me that I am a girl and must go to a girls' school. Boys must go to boys' school. From there, apart from the family, which also injects this into children, we are the same children who have now grown up. It is something that must be solved bilaterally. It is not just society; it is also family. It is not just the government; it is also family.' We see that Iran has successfully completed the second set. The third set of the volleyball match between the Czech Republic and Iran is continuing. You can join the crowd and continue cheering. On Saturday, the Iranian national volleyball team managed to defeat the Czech national team with a score of 3 to 0 and continues its preparatory trips with victories. Roya Karimi Majd, a journalist who started her career in 1992 in Iran and joined Radio Farda in May 2008. She is the producer of the weekly program 'Another Voice', which focuses on women's issues. In 2015, the Golden Microphone of the New York Radio Festival was awarded to the radio program 'Scent of the Razor', which was produced by Roya Karimi Majd.