From Environment to Women's Affairs: The Path of Masoumeh Ebtekar

"I will continue the path of Molaverdi in the Women’s Affairs Department." This was the most important statement made by Masoumeh Ebtekar, the new Vice President for Women and Family Affairs under Hassan Rouhani in his second term, during her introduction meeting. Meanwhile, the most significant outcome of the Women and Family Affairs Office during Rouhani's first term was nothing but a few unfinished projects, several archived plans, a few under review, and 400 pages of complaints from parliament representatives, along with years of obstruction and opposition, as stated by Shahindokht Molaverdi. The office, which aimed for a very good relationship with the media and experts on women's issues, considers its main achievement to be the public discussion of some women's issues and bringing their demands to the media level. Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and women's rights activist, commented on Molaverdi's performance in the 11th government, saying: "Ms. Molaverdi made efforts within her limited capabilities, but the obstacles in her way prevented her from implementing impactful programs that would fundamentally change the status of women. For example, the smallest demand of women, which was to enter sports stadiums, was not fulfilled, and discriminatory laws that fundamentally affect women's lives were not changed at all. She tried, but her impact on the lives of Iranian women was negligible." However, last week, Hassan Rouhani announced what some women's issues experts called a "punishment for women" by appointing Masoumeh Ebtekar, the former Vice President in the Environmental Organization, as the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs. Shirin Ebadi commented on Ebtekar's change in position, stating: "If her performance was not approved by Rouhani and other main government bodies, she should have been dismissed. If it was approved, she should have continued her work in her area of expertise, which is the environment. Moving someone from a position to one where they are not specialized is the biggest mistake, and I attribute this solely to the fact that Mr. Rouhani faced protests—valid or invalid—regarding Ms. Ebtekar's performance, and due to their relationship and political considerations, he did not want to completely ignore her. Therefore, she was moved from the Environmental Organization to Women’s Affairs." Shirin Ebadi referred to the government system and the placement of officials during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah, saying: "When people complained about the governor of Kerman, Naser al-Din Shah would transfer him to Yazd to calm the people. When asked why he moved a bad governor to another city, he replied that it would take a few years for people to realize his oppression, and then we would change his position again. Mr. Rouhani does the same with his ministers." Masoumeh Ebtekar is considered one of the few Iranian female politicians. Her name became known during the seizure of the American embassy in Tehran. She completed her studies in immunology and from 1993 to 1996 established the Institute for Women's Studies and Research. During the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, she was responsible for coordinating the NGOs for women and served as the vice president of the national committee for the conference. In 1996, she was elected as the head of the network of women’s NGOs in Iran. In 1997, she became a member of Mohammad Khatami's cabinet as the Vice President and head of the Environmental Organization of Iran, marking her as the first woman to hold a cabinet position in Iran since the 1979 Revolution. After two terms leading this organization, she served as a representative of Tehran in the City Council and was reappointed as head of the Environmental Organization in Rouhani's government in 2013. Some environmental experts consider her a successful manager in her field, including Ismail Kahrm, an environmental expert who has worked with Ebtekar for 18 years: "Ms. Ebtekar, in her first action, turned the issue of Iran's environment into a national issue. Do you think that about 18 years ago, the Environmental Protection Organization had any significance? Did people know its duties? The four protected areas of Iran's environment were preserved like flowers during her tenure. About 10% of Iran's land is protected by the Environmental Organization. We achieved what should have been done by about 11,000 people with just 2,700 rangers. Despite her pleas to the parliaments and governments of Mr. Khatami and Rouhani to allow the hiring of just 1,000 rangers, she was unsuccessful. Ms. Ebtekar's masterpiece was that despite budget shortages, she managed the organization for 12 years." Mr. Kahrm believes that Ebtekar's environmental concerns remained with her even during the gap between her two terms leading the organization: "When the Environmental Protection Organization was dormant, during the management of Ms. Javadi and Mr. Mohammadi-Zadeh, she held the Environmental Committee in the Tehran City Council and conducted 700 sessions, visits, speeches, and environmental preservation activities in the large city of Tehran. This was one of her achievements. They say one hand cannot make a sound, and I do not believe that the masterpieces of the world are created with one hand; Ms. Ebtekar is that one hand." However, not all environmental experts are satisfied with Ebtekar's 12-year performance. Azam Bahrami, an environmental expert residing in Italy, states: "No significant projects were initiated during Ms. Ebtekar's time, although I can mention the removal of domestically produced gasoline that caused a lot of pollution or that some space was opened for environmental NGOs. Similarly, some educational work was done that can be named as positive activities of Ms. Ebtekar. However, overall, when we examine major projects like the dust problem, water issues, sustainable development, and most importantly, the interaction and resistance against major ministries like oil, energy, and agriculture that created serious problems for the environment, we cannot give a positive score to Ms. Ebtekar." Azam Bahrami also points to Ebtekar's non-gendered view of women: "I give a concrete example like the car-free Tuesdays, which was supposed to promote the use of bicycles. However, one day in Tehran, many women showed up with bicycles, but a few hours before the program started, it was announced that they could not participate. This issue was specifically related to the education department of the Environmental Organization. However, Ms. Ebtekar did not explain who prevented women from attending." According to Azam Bahrami, the 12 years of Masoumeh Ebtekar's activity provided a good opportunity to assess her performance: "For replacing Ms. Ebtekar, Mr. Kalantari was chosen, while all available options were individuals without experience in the environmental field. This indicates that Ms. Ebtekar did not create serious planning for training managers, creating opportunities, and developing potential for individuals to grow in that space throughout these twelve years." Whether Masoumeh Ebtekar has had a positive performance in the environmental field or not, she now holds the responsibility of the "Vice Presidency for Women and Family Affairs."