Women in the Elections of Iran and America
Women in the Elections of Iran and America
Dr. Hossein Dehshyar, a professor of international relations at the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Allameh Tabataba’i University, has explored and analyzed the unique system of the U.S. presidential elections in a valuable book titled ‘The Theoretical and Practical Nature of the American Electoral System,’ which serves as an unparalleled resource in this field for the disciplines of law and political science.
However, an article he wrote in 2004 about the potential presidency of Condoleezza Rice, the National Security Advisor and then Secretary of State under George W. Bush, became controversial.
Dehshyar predicted that because Rice is a black woman and unattractive, she would never be able to attain the highest office in the United States. Regardless of how sensitive the use of these words may be, this speculation has so far proven to be correct.
Donald Trump defeated two women in the 2018 and 2014 elections, who, although from the same party, had different appearances, characters, and backgrounds.
This result showed that even in the most modern countries of the world, the view of women remains traditional.
A look at the last sixty years of Iranian history shows how sensitive the entry of women into the electoral arena has been.
On January 26, 1963, during the referendum known as the White Revolution, women were granted the right to vote for the first time.
Before this date, according to Article 10 of the Electoral Law, women, alongside the insane and bankrupt defaulters, were deprived of the right to vote. With the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the widespread participation of women in the referendum on March 30 and 31, 1979, the ‘Yes’ vote led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Although one woman, Monireh Gorji-Fard, participated in the final review of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and women, as voters, have the right to vote in four elections: the Assembly of Experts, presidential, parliamentary, and councils, they have not had an approved candidate in the elections for the Assembly of Experts and the presidency to date.
The ambiguous term ‘Men’ in Article 113 of the Constitution and the Guardian Council’s failure to define this word in the resolution defining the criteria and necessary conditions for identifying political, religious, and managerial competence of presidential candidates in 2021, despite being tasked with this duty in the tenth clause of the general election policies issued in 2016, shows that the issue of women and elections remains unresolved after sixty years of struggle.
A recent example in this context was the election of the Central Bar Association on October 11 this year, where 4,999 valid votes were cast. Although about half of the lawyers are female, in the final list of candidates, after reviewing qualifications and some withdrawing from the competition, only 18 women were present, with only one, Ms. Farideh Gheirat, making it to the board as the seventh member.
Of course, the presidential and bar association elections have a significant difference, which is that in the former, the issue of qualification approval is key, and opposition to it is not acceptable, whereas in the latter, the issue is choosing individuals regardless of gender, although in practice, gender was seen to influence selection.
Some women are dissatisfied with their position in society. This situation can be attributed to four perspectives: first, the male-to-male view, where men have a sympathetic and approving view of each other; second, the traditional male-to-female view, which is often top-down; third, the female-to-male view, where women generally accept and approve of men; and fourth, the female-to-female view, which unfortunately is not as sympathetic and approving as the male-to-male view.
From the last three perspectives where women are involved, in two cases, the responsibility for choosing the approach falls back on the women themselves.
The social developments of the past two years in Iran, especially the events of last week, show that the issue of gender still plays a decisive role.
Since the author of this note is a man, it is natural that a female reader might view this suggestion with suspicion and distrust. However, as the wise have said, the content is important, not the speaker, and the logic of the argument should always be considered.
Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi, the first female minister in the Islamic Republic of Iran, responded to the question of whether she agrees with women in ministerial positions by saying, ‘No, the greatest help to women comes from women themselves.’
