Female Members of the 5th Majlis Confront the Public

On Feb.7, 2000, all fourteen female members of the 5th Majlis (chamber of parliament) were invited to a public question-and-answer forum to account for their performances as policymakers regarding women's issues in Iran. The event was organized by the ground-breaking and highly esteemed feminist-Islamist women's magazine Zanan (Women), and by Roshangaran Press - headed by Ms. Laheji, a long-time publisher and women's rights advocate. All fourteen members had accepted the invitation, but only three, Fa'ezeh Hashemi, Seheela Jelodarzadeh, and Fatemeh Ramzanzadeh (arriving an hour late), actually came.

Most of the 100 people in attendance in the amphitheatre of the Enghelab Physical Fitness Club (prior to the revolution, the private and exclusive Shah-an-shahi Club), located in one of the affluent areas in the north of Tehran, were "secular" activist women. Only a handful were men, with half of these being Iranian and foreign reporters, including one French journalist, shuffling through the rows of seats with his cameraman and his Iranian (female) guide, looking for women in the audience who could parle francais. Save for a few glances at the now familiar sight of a foreign journalist eager for the latest scoop on Women in Iran, most of the audience looked on indifferently.

The event began with everyone standing up for the Iranian national anthem, the recitation of a prayer, a reading of a poem (played to soft background music) (until someone yelled, "put it off"), followed by salutations, thanks, and introductions. The moderator of the discussion, Fereshteh Ta'erpour, declared that the goal of the forum was to critically analyze the representatives' legislative activities within the last four years in the Majlis, so that more enlightened paths for progress, a better political understanding, and better results could be reached. She added, "The candidates for the 6th Majlis should keep in mind that they, too, will be faced with a day such as this, where they will have to answer for their actions."

The composition of the 6th Majlis is considered to be a determining factor in the political future of Iran. The whole nation, especially reformists, is concerned about the tense competition for power now exploding into a backlash of violence between various social and political groups. This unprecedented face-to-face meeting between grassroots women activists and members of the Majlis was a mutual acknowledgement of the growing emphasis and necessity for dialogue.

Moreover, the MPs represented a particular segment of Islamic society of which many in the audience did not consider themselves part. And yet, many of them were elected by precisely this group of onlookers, who simply felt it important to have female members in the Majlis. Fa'ezeh Hashemi, who during the 5th Majlis elections was the top vote getter in Tehran - before being bumped down to number two to make room for conservative cleric Nateq Nouri - was now being faced with an edgy, impatient crowd of constituents, demanding to know what she'd done for them, and how she had improved their lives.

Hashemi, whose daily newspaper Zan (Woman) was unconstitutionally shut down one year ago, spoke of the two factors that she believed had led to the lack of unity between the female members of the Majlis. Dressed in a red sweater, black and white checkered headscarf, blue jeans, black boots, and a chador, she said, "During the first year and a half, factional issues and other conflicts [...] were non-existent between women. Despite our differing viewpoints, when it came to women's issues, we were unified, coordinated, and of the same mind. As a result, we were able to pass 22 items of legislation concerning women. However, two significant events caused the erasure of this unity: The first splitting between women occurred when two particular items of legislation came up, both of which stood in opposition to the executive branch of the government: prohibiting the "exploitation" (estefade-ye abzari) of women's images in publications, and mandating sexual segregation within the medical field to comply with religious canon. The second splitting occurred during the banning of the newspaper, Zan, after which women's issues were given less attention."

With the exception of Hashemi and Fatemeh Ramzanzadeh, every female member signed the above widely contested legislation. And, Hashemi added, "Before the 5th Majlis, I used to think that the presence of any woman in the Majlis, regardless of leaning or viewpoint, is to the benefit of women. But now, I believe that their perspective and outlook are extremely important, and we must be aware of this."

Ms. Jelodarzadeh spoke of the members' accomplishments, stressing that although they did not successfully tackle many of the issues important to women, they did make a substantial effort. Both Jelordarzadeh and Hashemi pointed fingers at the media for not reporting on their attempts to bring women's issues to national attention. Female members of the Majlis are barred from being shown on television, which is under the grip of the conservative faction within the government. Ms. Hashemi insisted that much as she spoke about women, it was never reported by the media, and that the only statements that were ever published were about issues unrelated to women.

Following their short speeches, attorneys Mehrangiz Kar and Shirin Ebadi, two of the most prominent women's rights activists in Iran, directed their statements to the MPs. Kar began by noting the repetitious nature of her own discourse, complaining that she had been saying the same things over and over again for several years. She acknowledged the members' difficulties while reminding them of the opportunities available to them, "We, too, know that in a Majlis which addressed women like commodities, and spoke of their 'depreciating value', the female representatives have had difficulties, yet this does not mean that there was no platform available to you." She asked why the legal age of puberty for a girl was still nine years, and why she could still be punished as an adult, and why women still had limited divorce rights. She stated that Iranian society itself hadn't accepted such laws, and that Iranian women weren't done with, but were alive and vibrant. Islam, she added, could indeed solve these issues for the people, but so far it had not. "How is Islam to do this", she asked.

Shirin Ebadi, for her part, spoke of being tired of repeating herself, and stressed the precedence of civil rights over political ones. She rhetorically asked, "Is it really an honor to have a female vice-president who, when she wants to leave the country, must bow her head to her husband and ask him for permission?" She wanted to know why, when women speak of their rights, they were accused of questioning the precepts of Islam. She claimed that it was women's religious duty to challenge the Majlis' denial of women's rights, and deeply regretted that the majority of women members voted for legislation against women.

Ms. Jelordazadeh, apparently hoping that a double-standard might at least alleviate Ebadi's discontent, reassured everyone that female officials in the government didn't need their husbands' permission for exiting the country. (So if certain things aren't quite so rigid, perhaps this simply means that women in the government are leaving the rest of their sisters behind.)

After the rebuttals, the remaining time was left for the candidates for the 6th Majlis to present themselves. By the time they had each delivered a short speech about their intentions and beliefs, the time was up, and the audience was unable to directly question the members. As much as they were disappointed, most women believed that the event, on the whole, was a successful step in the right direction. At best, the sense of difference and separation became a bit smaller that day- the gap between "us" and "them" narrowed as the women on the podium shared their hardships. The representatives became less of an inaccessible group.

Fa'ezeh Hashemi herself admitted that if this meeting had taken place earlier, maybe they would have approached things differently in the Majlis: "Maybe we would have taken you into account more". The audience broke into loud applause in approval. In her case, the acknowledgement came too late, and she suffered the consequences during these last elections. Women, angered by what some perceive as her buckling to conservative pressure, and her unquestioning support of her powerful father, withdrew their support, which resulted in her failed attempt at re-election (her father is the unpopular Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was president of the Islamic Republic for two terms).

The forum was an attempt, in the face of the absence of institutionalized democratic processes, to apply pressure to elected public officials. In a nation where there are very few independent public forums available, especially to women, and there are no formal political avenues through which people can communicate, there is a lack of information about, and amongst women. There are hardly any statistics speaking to their condition, much less their viewpoints, and there are few systems in place for women to directly communicate with each other. It's almost as if the only things they have and know are their immediate surroundings. Perspectives, ideas, and information remain fragmented. With the events of this day, the limited scope possibly widened a little on both sides.

As if by coincidence, the next day, Jelodarzadeh was quoted in a newspaper addressing women's issues.

The event provided a chance for dialogue between what one might call "religious" and "secular" women, who were able to share the overall difficulties of womanhood. Yet part of what the said secular women tried to communicate was that, although some women in society had advanced by entering the public realm, there were others who had suffered. A "look at me too, while you've moved forward, I've been left behind. Be aware that it's been at my expense." Differing realities were presented that day.

MS