Competing Interests: Democracy, Islamification, and Women Politicians in Iran

Abstract

It was the support given by many women to the revolution that enabled Iranian women to insist on retaining their right to act effectively in the public domain. The Islamic government’s decision to make the veil, and therefore women, the standard-bearers of Islam allowed them to insist on having a voice and a presence in the public domain. Many women consistently refused to accept the solely domestic role allocated to them and instead insisted on accessing rights that they claim are God-given and cannot be taken away be mere men. Iranian women continued participating in every parliamentary election and held parliamentary seats since the inception of the revolution. As representatives in the Majlis (parliament), they have also consistently refuted the assumptions that they should be silent and submissive, which have been made about them by many of the post-revolutionary theocrats.KeywordsReligious LeaderMuslim WomanIranian WomanIslamic RepublicFirm CoreThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.