Yesterday, equal rights for women in Iran came under the spotlight yet again. This was as a result of President Hassan Rouhani’s suspension of a civil service entry exam, which may be marginalising Iranian women with its provisions and employment opportunities. The president also ordered a review of the 3,000 jobs available to successful candidates this year, to see if they favoured Iranian men over the women, and a reassessment of the exam if this was discovered to be the case.
The scrutiny of the annual entry exam comes as the president seeks to aid women’s struggles for visibility in Iran. Although the Iranian government continues to invest in the employment sector of its country, it has discovered that a greater part of its efforts go into providing and sustaining the careers of its men. By doing this, unfortunately, they leave the women largely unattended to. According to President Rouhani, a reassessment of the civil service entry exam will look into ensuring that Iranian women have equal access to employment opportunities as their male counterparts.
Iranian women continue to object under the limitations of extreme religious ideologies in Iran. These ideologies exclude them from fully participating in and benefitting from employment in politics, sports, and other sectors of the economy, dominated by men. However, the conditions of women in the country have improved tremendously, based on the recent strides that they have made in the aforementioned areas.
For instance, in February, Iran recorded its largest number of women voted into parliament yet, with 14 of them securing seats in the first round of the elections. An achievement which was criticised as being “overlooked” by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, but which, nonetheless, resounded with women’s rights activists in the country who continue to fight for their place in society. Another key actor also takes front seat for his role in supporting women’s rights and inclusion as they stand today – Rouhani.
President Hassan Rouhani has always showed an affinity for promoting women’s rights in the country, even before his ascension to office in August of 2013. His values regarding women’s rights has even pit him against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who openly retains the belief that women need to relegate themselves to motherhood and housekeeping, and nothing more. Unfortunately, the Supreme Leader’s view is a reflection of millions of Iranian men, most of whom occupy the majority of powerful positions in government, and who contribute to the suppression of women in the Middle Eastern country, daily.
Yet, a few others, such as Rouhani, disagree with what is undoubtedly a very common school of thought on women in Iran. During this past election period in the country, the president consistently encouraged women to ramp up their presence in politics and other fields in a national conference titled Women, Moderation, and Development. Speaking at the conference, Rouhani commented that Iran needs to believe in women’s presence and capabilities, acknowledge that women have roles in society, just like men.
Since his election, President Rouhani has amplified his calls for a more equal Iran, even once being quoted as saying that the future of Iran would be facing great oppression if women were not allowed to use the opportunities that “God and society intended for them.” But, while it appears that the women who voted for him in 2013 can confidently say that they voted right, not every woman or rights group is convinced that Rouhani is living up to the expectations of advancing the cause of Iranian women.
Some civil rights groups have argued that Rouhani is not doing the most he can with his position to eliminate inequality for women, especially on the absence of a strong female force in the workplace. In April, 7,000 armed members of the Iranian police force took to the streets to enforce a ‘morality campaign’ where women and girls were harassed for issues such as not being properly veiled, wearing makeup, or playing music too loudly.
Human rights activist and National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) member, Farideh Karimi, opined that Rouhani folded his arms and watched the suppression take place, rather than take measures to stop the morality police. Karimi stated that, although Khamenei oversaw the crackdown against women as supreme leader, Rouhani practically endorsed them by not using his influence to prevent the oppressive exercise.
Rouhani’s ‘good intention’ actions, and words about the women of his country have not been in sync at other times as well. At the same national conference in February where he praised the role of women in the economy and highlighted their abilities, he also mentioned that [Iran] does not accept feminism. Rouhani’s history as a government official in Iran, where he personally issued a directive to ban women without veils from entering offices or working, also injects a measure of doubt in the minds of members of the women’s movement in Iran who want to believe that he can effect a change in their status.
Then comes the directive to suspend the annual civil service entry exams until a review is conducted to reveal a consideration of the Iranian womenfolk. With such directives, perhaps Rouhani can work his way back into the good books of Iranian women and the Iran of the future without the existing barriers of discrimination, which he claims to envision, can truly exist.
