The first round of elections for the Majlis, Iran’s national parliament, changed the dynamic for political reformists throughout the country. 83 candidates from The List of Hope — an informal coalition of moderate and reformist candidates — claimed victory in the first of round of elections, an increase of over 50 representatives for the party. One particular characteristic of some candidates quickly garnered domestic and international attention: 14 female politicians secured seats in the Majlis, and seven more will be in the second round of elections — or runoff vote — in April. Immediate reactions to this outcome, particularly in Western media, sparked headlines that framed the results as either a dramatic victory for women, as well as the List of Hope in general, or an insignificant event within the larger landscape of the semi-autocratic Iranian government.
Yet, both sides of the political coverage missed the true significance of the election. The outcome represented over a 50 percent increase in female representation and also reminded Iranians of the continued structural limitations of their own government. While the increase in female Members of Parliament (MPs) does not reflect the Iranian population’s prioritization of female representation, these women weren’t elected by accident. The victories of Iran’s women, moderates, and reformists in the recent elections need to be analyzed together to fully understand their implications. The elections do not paint a definitive positive or negative picture of gender relations in government. What they do establish, however, are conditions for substantial reform in the coming years. And this time, reforms may actively involve women in government. These developments suggest that these new conditions may spark meaningful reforms in the coming years.
There’s been a historical discontinuity between the rights of women in Iran and their participation in government. While there has been a steady increase in women’s access to education and employment, these advances have not translated into positions in political office. Despite President Hassan Rouhani’s reformist agenda and public rhetoric encouraging more women to sit in government positions, he did not appoint a single woman as a cabinet minister upon his election. The few women who were in parliament faced the constant challenge of being regarded as “ornaments” as opposed to serious politicians and often voted against their own interests.
While the election results have significantly increased the number of female members of parliament, these gains have already faced pushback from conservatives, many of whom are women. Notably, Fatemeh Alia, a conservative MP, lost reelection when she supported a law to ban women from viewing a volleyball match live, saying that it was a woman’s place to “stay at home.” Occurrences like this are not new: The few women who have made it into the Majlis in the past have mainly avoided or even worked against progress in the field of women’s rights. During President Rouhani’s regime, female MPs have had trouble initiating reform, suggesting that representation does not automatically spark change, or even a desire for it. Thus, the significance of the 14 female representatives’ victories, for women and for Iran as a whole, needs to be accompanied with opportunities for women to play meaningful roles in politics. As more women are elected and reformist parties gain political traction, that opportunity may have arrived. The public has voted female MPs across the country not only because they have voiced feminist policies, but also because they have campaigned on substantive and convincing reform measures.
Seyedeh Fatemeh Hosseini, a PhD candidate at the University of Tehran and youngest addition to the Majlis, embodies the successful combination of a female politician whose policy focus goes beyond just gender issues. As a member of the List of Hope, she campaigned with substantive views on global economic integration and an increased attention to the needs of the next generation of Iranians, of which she counts herself a member. Her classification as part of the youth vote has propelled her political career and helped earn her considerable support. Hosseini’s victory suggests that the increase in support for female politicians may be driven not solely by changed attitudes and institutional prejudices against women, but instead by a cultural and demographic change that coincides with the reformist movement.
Reformist and moderate MPs predominantly based their campaigns on the grand strategic plan known as Vision 2025. Both ends of Iran’s political spectrum hope to establish the nation as a regional power, but the reformists’ goal prioritizes a knowledge-based society, increasingly involved in international political, economic, and cultural forums. Vision 2025 is grounded by foreign investment in Iran’s people; supporters of the plan hope to establish regional dominance by educating, equipping, and motivating the population to compete at an international level. President Rouhani is already encouraging a corresponding increase in global investment, especially in information and communications technology. Through that policy, it’s no surprise that female candidates supporting a policy platform focused on education, jobs, and future economic growth attracted the youth vote.
Those goals have led Iranians to not only set up necessary conditions for reform, but to do so within a system that is still checked by remaining autocratic authorities, namely the Assembly of Experts and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Beyond the policies and rhetoric of these figures, women have faced even greater restraints on their participation in government from the Guardian Council, the authoritative and religious body of six jurists and six theologians that’s often considered to be the single-most influential body in the government. Embodying some of the greatest challenges to Iranian democracy, the Council has repeatedly disqualified women from running based on their interpretations of Islamic Law. The public’s ability to navigate the Council this February and place reformists and women in parliament indicates that, contrary to some popular belief, Iranian elections present a genuine opportunity of reform.
The runoff elections on April 29, 2016 will finalize the composition of the Majlis and have key impacts on how those reforms develop into substantial policies. Seven more female candidates may win office in districts across the country that failed to elect an MP with over 25 percent of the vote during the first round of elections. By nature, the runoff voting exhibits the diversity of Iranian political views. They particularly highlight the continued influence of conservative and hardline members of parliament and as the obstacles presented by the public as well as the government. Yet, the runoff elections also show the strength of Iran’s political process, because despite the opposing political and economic visions that divide these candidates, Iran’s limited democracy is becoming increasingly fair.
Going beyond its own borders, women’s roles in reforms may be crucial in shaping international responses to reformist policies. The List of Hope’s political, economic, and cultural initiatives are fundamentally tied to the international community. Iran’s inclusion in global economic and diplomatic forums depends on the willingness of the international community just as much as it depends on political will at home. As the List of Hope attempts to modernize Iran’s role in the world, it must close the gap between how the Iranian people envision their future and how international media often portrays the nation’s goals. Through this political and cultural shift, Iran may hope to demonstrate how a large, Islamic democracy in the Middle East can serve as a model for others in the region, similar to Turkey and Mauritius’ hopes for their former female heads of government.
It’s because of this political climate that the role of women in Iran’s government may hold the key to shaping the new reformist vision. Women and reform are tied beyond the proposed policies of the List of Hope; Iran’s female MPs may operate as a lens through which the international community views the state. If this political trend continues, and the newly elected officials assume a substantive role in reforms, Iran’s international image will be drastically closer to its desired identity. As in any democracy, reforms still need to be made, and the List of Hope appears poised to give it their best shot. While this isn’t the first time Iran has been on the brink of significant change, the presence and potential leadership of Iran’s women suggests that this time might be different. Only time will tell if Iran’s political system and policy dynamics will shift in favor of women.
Infographic by Quinn Schoen