Moulavardi: I Will Not Serve as Deputy in Women's Affairs

Shahindokht Moulavardi, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, stated on Sunday, August 8, in a gathering with reporters, in response to the question "Will you be present in the next government and has there been any discussion with you regarding this?" that "If God wills, I will be present." However, she clarified that she will not serve as a deputy in the area of women's affairs. According to the state news agency IRNA, Moulavardi made this statement after a meeting of the National Social Council at the Ministry of Interior. The Tasnim news agency also reported her response, quoting her as saying, "There have been discussions with me, but my presence as a deputy in women's affairs will not be the case, but I will be in the cabinet; however, the final decision will be made by the President." The Vice President for Women and Family Affairs emphasized to reporters: "Our effort is to ensure women's presence in the next cabinet." Hassan Rouhani's swearing-in ceremony will be held on August 14, meaning there is less than a week until the formation of his new government. Meanwhile, Mr. Rouhani's office has requested the media to refrain from any speculation regarding the composition of the new cabinet. On August 2, Moulavardi, in Mashhad, informed activists of Hassan Rouhani's electoral headquarters in Khorasan Razavi about the preparation of a comprehensive 300-page program for the new government, stating: "One of these programs is the empowerment of women and girls, which is a focus of the twelfth government, especially in terms of utilizing and benefiting from this capacity in managing society." Recently, 175 members of the Iranian parliament wrote a letter to the President requesting the introduction of "qualified and capable women" as ministers in the twelfth government. At the same time, the Supreme Administrative Council approved that 30% of the country's managers in executive agencies should be selected from among women. Shahindokht Moulavardi has also presented a list of female candidates for the ministry to Hassan Rouhani. However, Soheila Jelodarzadeh, a representative from Tehran in parliament, stated that "according to what I have heard, no woman will be present as a minister in the twelfth cabinet." According to Jelodarzadeh, "The presence of women in the twelfth government will be limited to deputy ministers." The possibility of presenting a "male-only" list of proposed ministers to parliament arises while the appointment of a female minister and even the establishment of a Ministry of Women were among Hassan Rouhani's electoral promises in both presidential election terms. On July 3, Mr. Rouhani stated regarding the presence of women in his government that "more effort is needed for women's presence in managerial positions. It is clear that a woman who has not been in managerial positions cannot suddenly be placed in a high management position; rather, steps must be taken gradually." He called for "this path to be taken with more patience" and stated: "There are obstacles and problems ahead, but these obstacles will be removed." In Mr. Rouhani's first government, no female minister was introduced, but Elham Aminzadeh served as the Legal Vice President, Masoumeh Ebtekar as the head of the Department of Environment, and Shahindokht Moulavardi as the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs. In 2016, Ms. Aminzadeh was appointed as the advisor to the President on citizen rights, and Majid Ansari replaced her as the Legal Vice President.