mental organizations in post-Soviet Caucasian and
Central Asian republics are reluctant to promote
this concept.
The issue of participation of women in public
office remains marginalized and its links to demo-
cratic and people-centered development remain
outside general public discourse. Unless proper
attention is given to these issues at the highest level
and comprehensive national programs are designed
and implemented, there is a potential danger of los-
ing the momentum to rectify the initial drawbacks
that occurred at the early stages of independence
and making the process, at least in some of the
countries, irreversible.
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Dono AbdurazakovaIranWomen participated actively in the Constitu-
tional Revolution of 1905/6. The constitution rec-
ognized all citizens as equal before the law, but the
electoral law of 1906 barred women from voting
and being elected to parliament.
Proposals for revision of the electoral law were
advanced on a number of occasions in the five
decades between the ratification of the 1906 con-
stitution and the extension of suffrage to women in
- The issue of female suffrage was raised by a
single deputy in the Majlis (parliament) in 1911
and debated on the floor of the legislature in 1944.
In the early 1950s, Premier Mu™ammad Mußaddiq
iran 681
considered enfranchising women, but abandoned
the idea. Throughout this period, the clerical lead-
ers opposed the extension of the vote to women,
declaring such a step incompatible with Islamic
teachings and a source of corruption among
women.
Iranian women voted for the first time in the
1963 referendum on the White Revolution – a pro-
gram of reform introduced by Mohammad Reza
Shah. The government did not sanction women’s
participation in the referendum but at the same
time did not prevent women from setting up their
own ballot boxes, casting votes, and announcing
the results. Newly enfranchised women voted in the
September 1963 parliamentary elections. For the
first time, six women were elected to parliament.
The Shah appointed two other women to the sen-
ate. In subsequent parliamentary elections the
number of women deputies increased. In 1978, on
the eve of the Islamic Revolution, 22 women sat in
parliament.
Women retained the right to vote after the
Islamic Revolution and four women were elected
to the first parliament under the Islamic Republic.
In the 2000 Majlis elections, 13 women were
elected to parliament. A number of women tried
to run for the presidency in the elections of 1997
and 2001 but were disqualified. The Iranian
constitution is vague concerning the gender of
the president. Women also successfully competed
for seats in pre- and post-revolution local council
elections.
Two women were appointed to the cabinet in the
1960s and 1970s: FarrukhrùPàrsàas minister of
education and Mahnàz Afkhamìas minister of
state for women’s affairs. The position of minister
of state for women’s affairs was abolished in 1978
to appease the unfolding Islamist movement.
Immediately prior to the Islamic Revolution in
1979 women were employed in significant num-
bers in both the private and public sectors and held
numerous decision-making positions. Despite the
significant participation of women in the protests
leading to the revolution and the overthrow of the
monarchy, women in decision-making positions
were purged or given early retirement. Female
judges were dismissed.
But women gradually inched their way back into
the public sphere. In 1997, Ma≠ßùmeh Ibtikàr
became the first woman vice president for environ-
mental affairs. By 2004, women were serving as
members of parliament, deputy ministers, and
directors-general of government ministries. Most
cabinet ministers and provincial governors appointed
advisers for women’s affairs. Women were permitted