A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF AHMADINEJAD'S GENDER POLICY

Number 16 ● 26 September 2007

 

A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF AHMADINEJAD'S GENDER POLICY

 

Liora Hendelman-Baavur*

 

Ever since his election as president of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2005, Mahmud Ahmadinejad's attention-grabbing statements have aroused public wrath not merely internationally, but in Iran as well. Some of his most controversial domestic declarations have been related to the country's gender policies.

In December 2006 Ahmadinejad also enraged radicals when he attended the opening ceremony of the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, which featured unveiled dancers and women vocalists. In May 2007 the Iranian President was further censured for moral indecency by the local radical press, after publicly kissing the gloved hands of his veiled former school teacher, in a ceremony prior to Teacher's Day.

Against the backdrop of the country's stressed economy and threats of broader Western sanctions due to the nuclear standoff, these personal vilifications serve as an indicator of the growing discontent with Ahmadinejad's administration ability to translate promises into performances. Overall, Ahmadinejad has tried to demonstrate open-mindedness towards women's affairs. During

his presidential campaign he even pledged not to initiate crackdowns on women's dress. Yet Ahmadinejad's promises pale in the face of the authorities' current seasonal crackdown on women's dress, the mixing of men and women in public, and women's rights activists. A mid-term assessment of Ahmadinejad's major gender policy schemes is therefore in order.

In September 2005, soon after he came into office, Ahmadinejad nominated Nasrin Soltankhah, a member of Tehran's City Council, as his advisor for women's affairs and a non-ministerial member of his cabinet. Soltankhah was also named the new director of the Center for Women and Family Affairs. Difficulties in approving his nominees by the parliament (Majlis) and demands by women organizations have also encouraged Ahmadinejad to appoint another woman as a non-ministerial cabinet member. Fatemeh Javadi was nominated as vice president to head the Department of Environment.

Upon these nominations Ahmadinejad has stated that "Iranian women symbolize freedom and chastity" and that they are able to effect political, social and cultural decision-making. Yet he neglected to mention that women are consistently overlooked for ministerial posts and they are still not eligible for the presidency. He also did not mention that in the elections to the seventh Majlis in 2004, women did not manage to increase their numbers. Merely eleven women legislators were elected to the current parliament (comprised of 290 representatives), in comparison with 13 women MPs in the previous body.

Moreover, women comprise only 14 percent of the government's work force and those who occupy top positions are usually keen supporters of the regime and occasionally related to the ruling elite. Vice President Fatemeh Javadi is the niece of Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli, one of the prominent Islamic scholars in Qom. A prominent member of the Tehran City Council, Pouran Ahmadinejad, is the President's sister. While Iranian women are among the most highly-educated in the Middle East, their unemployment rate is particularly high - 13 percent across the board and over 22 percent among women.

An attempt to advance women's affairs was taken by President Ahmadinejad in April 2006, when he expressed himself in favor of lifting the ban on women attendance of men's national sports matches. He suggested, however, that separated sections in stadiums will be allocated for women and families. Ahmadinejad's declaration was released in the midst of an ongoing campaign of female soccer fans, which also inspired Ja'far Panahi's banned film "Offside" (2006). In June 2005 a group of a 100 women pushed their way into Azadi stadium in Tehran to watch the soccer match between their national team and Bahrain. The victory over Bahrain, qualifying Iran for the 2006 World Cup, sparked mass celebrations in the streets of Tehran. While the authorities could hardly prevent the spontaneous patriotic outbreak, they barely tolerated the intermixed gender gatherings, and the presence of unveiled women (bi-hejabi). Ahmadinejad's initiative raised sharp criticism by a group of MPs and stern objections by several grand Ayatollahs, among them Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, who is regarded as Ahmadinejad's spiritual advisor. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah 'Ali Khamene'i, intervened by freezing the presidential act and preserving the status quo. Since then, Ahmadinejad has remained publicly silent on the issue.

Notwithstanding his failed sports initiative, Ahmadinejad is known as a devoted advocate of gender segregation. During his term as the Mayor of Tehran (2003-2005), the city began to advance the project of separate elevators in municipal buildings. Following his election for presidency, the intention of the administration to form separate pedestrian walkways for men and women in the capital was reported in January 2006. Although this is not a new idea in Iran - in the late 19th century under the Qajar dynasty it was a practiced norm in the capital - it was abandoned in the 1920s. Ever since its establishment, the Islamic Republic has attempted to implement and enforce several creative sex segregation policies. During the late 1990s the Majlis voted for the establishment of sex segregated hospitals and health clinics. However, in 1998 the Council of Guardians was forced to rule off this bill since it was too costly to implement.

Another abruptly contentious announc-ement by President Ahmadinejad addressed the country's noteworthy population control and family planning programs. From 1980 to 1988 Iran's population increased by almost 16 million (including approximately 2.5 million Afghani refugees). Faced with the risk of overpopulation, by 1988 Iran's most astute intellectuals, policy experts, the Budget and Planning organization as well as senior religious leaders publicly supported a family planning program. Shortly before his death, in 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini reversed his pro-natalist policy of the early 1980s and ratified the program. With its implementation, Iran's population growth declined from 3.2 percent in 1986 to around 1.2 percent in 2001. In October 2006 Ahmadinejad voiced his opinion "against saying that two children are enough." Instead, he disclosed vigorous support in increasing birth rates and indicated the country will benefit from an additional 50 million citizens, who would strengthen its position against the West.

Thus far, most of Ahmadinejad's gender related initiatives and rhetoric accorded with the Islamic revolution fundamental values, set by Ayatollah Khomeini. Since the early days of the republic some of these schemes were already debated at length among its leadership and in public, and underwent far reaching transitions to meet national needs and financial durability, while other policies continue to prevail. The Islamic Republic's most consistent gender policy relates to the enforcement of the veil, named by Ayatollah Khomeini "the flag of the Revolution". Street patrols and check posts are regularly implemented to identify unsuitable veiling (bad hejabi) in particular and violations of public moral codes in general. In May 2006, the Majlis authorized a special dress plan to promote the state's proper fashion requirements. Ahmadinejad endorsed the act by underlining the new dress code should suit Iran's national and Islamic identity and culture. A massive crackdown against women's inappropriate veiling was launched by civil security forces beginning this April. Despite Ahmadinejad's pre-election claims that there would be no dress code enforcement, the current crackdown is said to be the most extensive and harsh in recent years.

As of this writing, Ahmadinejad is only half-way through his presidential term as the first non-cleric president since 1981. On the one hand, his endeavors to stir up old debates concerning women ostensibly concur with his populist rhetoric and wedge tactics, meant to maintain both the support of his public constituency and political allies, especially in light of Iran's tarnished international prestige and struggling economy. On the other hand, Ahmadinejad's gender policy initiatives might indicate that in Iran, even a hardline president might find it difficult to maneuver, between the ruling clerics and a Majlis, governed by ultra-conservative factions■

 


* Liora Hendelman-Baavur is a research fellow of the Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University.


The Alliance Center for Iranian Studies (ACIS)

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Iran Pulse 16 ● September 26, 2007 © All rights reserved.

 

 

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