 |
| Sevil Suleymani |
Sevil Suleymani generally views the election of women to city and village councils in Iran as a positive development, but she does not believe it will improve the state of women’s rights in the country. In an interview with Voice of America, the feminist activist evaluated the presidential and council elections in Iran, stating that voting in these elections serves to legitimize the Vilayat-e Faqih system, a form of monarchy based on Shia ideology.
“In this situation, everyone goes to participate in these elections, and by doing so, they confirm and legitimize the system in Iran,” she says.
Suleymani adds, “The term election engineering explains the elections in Iran very well... They have brought in a despised figure like Ebrahim Raisi, so that everyone is scared when his name is mentioned. The entire propaganda of all the groups is based on the idea that people should vote for Rouhani so that Raisi doesn’t win... But I think, today, Rouhani’s exit serves the benefit of the regime.”
 |
| Election posters in Tabriz and Urmia, Azerbaijan |
She emphasizes that this policy is not only followed in presidential elections but also in other elections.
Focusing on the views of both conservative and reformist groups on the women’s issue, she evaluates the candidacy of women for city councils:
“Because the issue of women is considered one of the regime's sensitive issues, even reformists never openly address women’s issues. While they may issue slogans about ethnic issues, they cannot do the same for women’s issues. Women candidates in the elections also come from either conservative or reformist groups.”
Suleymani also points to the election campaigns of female candidates:
“There are also some female candidates who have no political discourse. Interestingly, they all focus on beauty and appearance in their posters and campaign materials. They conduct their campaigns by putting up decorated pictures.”
Despite this, Sevil Suleymani generally evaluates the election of women to city councils as a positive step.
“However, I think the inclusion of women in city council elections is generally positive. At least it brings them into the political sphere. That is, they start engaging in public life. After being elected to the council, they will have responsibilities in front of the population. They will have to learn certain discourses, and they can help encourage other women to become more active... These are all positive developments. However, I am not hopeful that this will lead to a significant change in the discourse around women’s issues.”
Sevil Suleymani also believes that those who vote in the elections should choose female candidates when they are running under the same conditions as male candidates.
“As a feminist, if there is a male and a female candidate under the same conditions, I would say the woman should be given preference. I see this as positive discrimination. Given the situation in Iran, I’m not hopeful that this will bring about any change in terms of women’s rights. But there is a saying among feminists that once a person holds power, that power cannot be taken back from them.”
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Sevil Süleymani: Qadınların şəhər şuralarına seçilməsi müsbətdir