Record Number of Women in Tehran City Council Broken; Double Previous Terms

With the announcement of the list of elected members of the Tehran City Council, it became clear that the number of female members in the fifth term of the Tehran City Council will be double that of any previous term.

Based on the results announced by the Tehran Municipality, Shahrbanu Amani, Bahareh Aravin, Zahra Sadraazam Nouri, Nahid Khodakarmi, Zahra Nejadbahram, and Elham Fakhari have been elected to the fifth City Council, whereas in each of the previous terms only three women had become members of the City Council.

In the recent term, when the number of City Council members increased to 30 people, women constituted only one-tenth of the council members, a fact that was very noticeable in council sessions.

In Iran, reformists, unlike conservatives, emphasize women’s participation in social activities and include a larger number of female candidates in their electoral lists. Accordingly, the presence of six women among the winners of the Tehran City Council elections resulted from all candidates on the reformist list being elected to the City Council.

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the elected mayor of the Tehran City Council in recent terms, was accused by his critics of not employing female managers in the municipality and segregating female employees in some departments of the organization.

The elections of city and village councils in Iran were held simultaneously with the presidential elections and mid-term parliamentary elections on the 29th of Ordibehesht.

Although international organizations emphasize that these elections are not free due to the role of the Guardian Council in vetting the candidates for presidential and parliamentary elections, in council elections, candidate vetting is the responsibility of the Council Elections Supervision Board, which operates under the supervision of the parliament.

Although in this round of council elections some critical figures of the government were approved, with pressure from the judiciary and the Guardian Council, this board ultimately rejected candidates such as Abdullah Momeni, who was imprisoned for several years after the 2009 protests, from council elections.

Source: Voice of America