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| Mahsa Mehdili |
Mehsa Mehdili, a nationalist activist from Salmas, believes that the appointment of a woman as a minister in Iran does not improve the situation of women's rights in the country. In an interview with Voice of America, the former student activist discussed topics such as the inability of women to run for president, the promises made by presidential candidates regarding women's rights, and the appointment of women as ministers in Iran.
According to Mehdili, there was a debate in the Iranian parliament about whether the Arabic word "rijāl" used in Article 115 should be understood as "person" or "man," leading to controversy. Ultimately, the Guardian Council concluded that only men could run for president, thus ending the debate.
"By prohibiting women and non-Shia religious minorities from running for president, the Iranian constitution officially legitimizes discrimination and marginalization. This way, the potential of more than half of the country's population is disregarded, causing deep wounds in society," said the graduate of Urmia University.
Mehsa Mehdili also commented on the appointment of Iran’s first female minister by President Ahmadinejad and the promises of some candidates to appoint women as ministers in the current election: "Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, the former Minister of Health and Medical Education in Ahmadinejad’s government, although a woman herself, participated in many projects and activities that were against women's rights. Therefore, having a woman as a minister does not change anything. Women's rights should be the focus."
According to Mehdili, today, in addition to higher education, tools such as satellite and the internet have enabled women to gain more knowledge about their rights. As a result, presidential candidates try to use this by making promises to gain votes. However, they do not address the fundamental issues of women’s rights.
In Mehdili’s view, women in Iran share the same fate as non-Persian groups, religious and sectarian minorities, as well as sexual minorities, and to put an end to this, they must work together.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Məhsa Mehdili: İranda qadınlar etnik, dini və cinsəl azlıqlarla eyni taleyi yaşayır