Iran Reduces Jail Terms of Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloufar Hamedi Women Journalists Who Covered Mahsa Amini's Death
New Age Islam News Bureau
12 Aug 2024
·
Meet Begum Qudsia Aizaz Rasul, The Only Muslim
Woman Among Those Who Drafted the Indian Constitution
· Iran Reduces Jail Terms of Elaheh Mohammadi and NiloufarHamedi Women Journalists Who Covered Mahsa Amini's Death
·
Rehnuma Library, Mumbra,Has Given Young Muslim
Women a Sisterhood Of Hope
· In A First, 28-Year-Old Deaf Woman Crowned Miss South Africa Amid Controversy
· ‘Bring Your Husband Written Permission’: Tough Laws Iranian Women Face To Get Job
· Iran’s President Taps Nuclear Negotiator As Foreign Minister, Woman For Housing Post
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iran-jail-elaheh-noloufar-journalis-mahsa/d/132918
New Age Islam News Bureau
12 Aug 2024
·
Iran Reduces Jail Terms of Elaheh Mohammadi and
Niloufar Hamedi Women Journalists Who Covered Mahsa Amini's Death
·
Meet
Begum Qudsia Aizaz Rasul, The Only Muslim Woman Among Those Who Drafted the
Indian Constitution
·
Rehnuma
Library, Mumbra, Has Given Young Muslim Women a Sisterhood Of Hope
·
In A First, 28-Year-Old Deaf Woman Crowned Miss
South Africa Amid Controversy
·
‘Bring Your Husband Written Permission’: Tough
Laws Iranian Women Face To Get Job
·
Iran’s President Taps Nuclear Negotiator As
Foreign Minister, Woman For Housing Post
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
Iran
Reduces Jail Terms of Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloufar Hamedi Women Journalists
Who Covered Mahsa Amini's Death
Tehran, Iran: Iranian courts
have reduced jail terms for two female journalists charged with collaborating
with the United States, their lawyers told reformist newspapers on Sunday.
------
August
11, 2024
Tehran,
Iran: Iranian courts have reduced jail terms for two female journalists charged
with collaborating with the United States, their lawyers told reformist
newspapers on Sunday.
Elaheh
Mohammadi, 37, and NiloufarHamedi, 31, are out on bail after more than a year
in Tehran's Evin prison for their coverage of the September 2022 death in
custody of Mahsa Amini which had sparked nationwide protests.
In
January, Iran's judiciary said it had launched new proceedings against the two
women for posing for pictures without the mandatory headscarf upon their
release that month.
Two
separate appeals courts in Tehran ruled to acquit the women of the charge of
collaboration with the United States, the lawyers were quoted as saying by
Shargh and Ham Mihan dailies.
Originally,
Mohammadi had been sentenced to six years in jail while Hamedi had been handed
a seven-year sentence, according to the judiciary.
The pair
were also each given five-year sentences for collusion and conspiring against
state security and one year for propaganda against the Islamic republic.
The
lawyers said these sentences were upheld by the appeals court and would be
served concurrently, adding, however, that they hope the journalists would be
freed under an amnesty announced last year by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei.
"Considering
that the remaining two accusations meet the full conditions of the amnesty
directive of 2023, we hope that Elaheh Mohammadi will be pardoned, and this
case will be closed by issuing a suspension of execution order,"
Mohammadi's lawyer Shahab Mirlohi told Ham Mihan newspaper.
Hamedi's
lawyers issued a similar statement.
Hamedi,
a photographer for Shargh, was arrested less than a week after Amini's death
after posting a picture of the young woman's grieving family on social media.
Ham
Mihan reporter Mohammadi was arrested after going to Amini's hometown of Saqez,
in the western Iranian province of Kurdistan, to cover her funeral which turned
into a demonstration.
Amini, a
22-year-old Iranian Kurd, had been arrested for an alleged breach of strict
dress rules for women, in place since shortly after Iran's 1979 Islamic
revolution.
Following
her death, months-long protests shook Iran, with hundreds of people, including
dozens of security personnel, killed in the unrest, and thousands of
demonstrators arrested.
Nine men
were executed in cases related to the protests which Iranian authorities
generally labelled "foreign-instigated riots".
Source: ndtv.com
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iran-reduces-jail-terms-of-2-women-journalists-who-covered-mahsa-aminis-death-6315467
--------
Meet Begum
Qudsia Aizaz Rasul, The Only Muslim Woman Among Those Who Drafted The Indian
Constitution
Begum
Qudsia Aizaz Rasul. | Wikimedia Commons.
----
Angellica
Aribam & Akash Satyawali
In 1929,
Begum QudsiaAizazRasul married Nawab AizazRasul, a taluqdar, a landowning
aristocrat from Sandila in the Hardoi district of the United Provinces, now
known as Uttar Pradesh. She was now known as Begum AizazRasul. The match was
said to have been arranged by Malcolm Hailey, the governor of Punjab. Qudsia’s
first glimpse of the prospective groom was from behind a curtain when she was
in Lucknow to assist her father with work related to the Simon Commission.
Her
marital home was mired in orthodoxy; Qudsia had a very traditional
mother-in-law who favoured a strict adherence to purdah. It was only when the
couple left Rasul’s ancestral home for a smaller accommodation that Qudsia
gained a degree of personal freedom. This was when she decided to discard the
purdah. It was not an easy decision, as Rasul was not pleased with her
initially but came around later.
Rasul, a
leader from the Awadh region, was part of the 1931 United Provinces Muslim
Conference26. It was attended by distinguished men from the province who later
joined the Muslim League. In 1935, Britain enacted the Government of India Act,
a new constitutional scheme that gave Indians limited autonomy in governance
matters. The Act retained separate electorates and reserved seats for women in
legislatures. When elections to the provincial assemblies and councils were
announced in 1936, Qudsia and her husband decided to take the plunge into
electoral politics.
Rasul
contested for the United Provinces Assembly from Hardoi district on the ticket
of the newly formed National Agriculturalist Party (NAP), a coalition of “Hindu
and Muslim landlords along with sections of business capital.” Qudsia on the
other hand, contested as an independent on a seat reserved for Muslims
representing Hardoi, Sitapur, and Kheri districts in the Legislative Council.
Both Rasul and Qudsia emerged winners. However, it was Qudsia who faced an
eventful and tumultuous campaign.
The
religious leaders were not amused by her candidature and issued a fatwa, the
second recorded incident in Qudsia’s case. They declared that voting for a
non-purdah Muslim woman was un-Islamic. The anger amongst the conservatives was
not only due to her disregard for purdah but that a woman had dared to openly
compete with men. Qudsia ran a spirited campaign, receiving unstinted support
from Rasul. She won the election with a thumping majority. Her victory was
significant as she was contesting for a general seat (seat not reserved for
women). Across the country, only ten women had won the general seats, one of
them was Hansa Mehta. The fact that voters were often from a similar social
standing as hers contributed to her victory. Qudsia later pointed out that her
win was an indication that Muslims were “not really as orthodox as they were
made out to be”.
Qudsia
called the 1937 election her “political baptism” and claimed that she had been
goaded to contest by friends. She herself was keen to do “something to
ameliorate the condition of Indian women”.
By this
time, Qudsia had formally given up purdah for public gatherings, maintaining
the practice only during her meetings with her orthodox mother-in-law. In fact,
her mother-in-law once sent a curtained palanquin to pick up Qudsia from a
railway station. This was much to the amusement of the public and press who
called her the “two-faced Begum” – one-moment observing purdah and the other
discarding it. The name-calling did not deter the young politician. She decided
to be pragmatic about the purdah and chose her battles wisely. She wrote,
‘Revolution, be it political or economic, must have strong roots; otherwise, it
will be wiped out by a counter-revolution. And so I blended orthodoxy and
modernism harmoniously, yielding without compromise and uncompromising with
rancour.”
Source: scroll.in
https://scroll.in/article/1071353/meet-begum-qudsia-aizaz-rasul-the-only-muslim-woman-among-those-who-drafted-the-indian-constitution
--------
Rehnuma
Library, Mumbra,Has Given Young Muslim Women a Sisterhood Of Hope
SaranyaChakrapani
August
12, 2024
At
Mumbra, a neighbourhood widely recognised as one of the country’s largest
Muslim ghettos, FaizaShaik is among the few women who can move around late
evenings, exercise important life choices and has a college degree. Shaik works
as a librarian at Rehnuma (translated to ‘Guide’ in Urdu) Library, a vertical
of the NGO Awaaz-e-Niswaan, which for the last four decades, has been working
to ensure young girls in the neighbourhood finish their education, find
livelihood prospects and access counselling. In 2003, Rehnuma Library was
opened as part of the NGO’s efforts to empower young girls and women with
exposure to Indian and global literature. It was launched with the intent to
nurture a stronger sense of identity, alongside social and political
consciousness in these women. Today, the library, which also functions as
Awaaz-e-Niswaan'scenter in Mumbra, has over 350 members, and has bloomed into a
community space where women receive education, legal assistance and support
with matters like divorce, polygamy, and domestic violence. “Books incite
curiosity in our women, and I often see that as the starting point to gaining
autonomy,” says Shaik, who has been the librarian at Rehnuma for the last nine
years. “We have seen such a large number of mothers and homemakers taking time
off their daily grind to find comfort in the words of Riffat Siraj and Razia
Butt.” Siraj and Butt are distinguished Pakistani writers who dealt with gender
and the complex social conditions of their times. “The younger girls are
usually drawn to newer generation writers such as Umera Ahmed, Nemrah Ahmed and
FarhatIshtiaq who write on romance, religion and personal growth,” says Shaik.
In addition, Shaik has also been stocking up classical English literature and
modern Indian authors including ChetanBhagat and Durjoy Dutta. She often goes
to book fairs across the country to buy popular editions in bulk for the women
and girls of Rehnuma. A window into the
world Yasmeen Aga, director of Awaaz-e-Niswaan, says their mode of engagement
with the women of the community may have changed with the advent of technology
and social media exposure, but their core values remain the same over the
decades—“empowering our women with the changing times.” Women at the library
are encouraged to share their experiences of violence, oppression while also
learning ways to overcome these situations. While in the 1990s, they supported
survivors of domestic violence and Triple Talaq, today, they compliment these
existing efforts with education—both academic and socio-political. “Families
are still largely opposed to sending their daughters to the centre. Girls are
still given into marriages when they are very young. Many drop out of school
and get embroiled in romantic relationships to escape the turmoil at home,” she
says. For these reasons and more, Rehnuma has emerged as a sanctuary where such
real and enduring issues that otherwise remain hidden owing to the shame and
stigma surrounding them, can be discussed and resolved with curiosity and
commitment instead of judgment and rebuke. Imara (name changed on request), one
of the young women of Rehnuma, was brutally beaten up when her relationship
with a young man was exposed at home. Her mental state was oscillating between
anger and rebellion on the one hand, and fear and hopelessness on the other,
until Shaik came to know about her situation. As with many lived experiences of
the girls of Mumbra, Shaik was quickly able to see the larger enmeshment of
poverty, discord, alcoholism, patriarchy and illiteracy in Imara’s family that
was threatening to erode her future. Being a team of women, Rehnuma’s leaders
often find it easier to forge connections with the families of their young
members. “I saw that Imara’s father was drinking and abusive, and both he and
her mother neglected her over her brothers. While on the one hand, they wanted
to shield her from the influence of the world, on the other, they wanted her to
step out and earn money for the family by drawing mehndi,” says Shaik. “Unable
to bear these scenarios, the slightest attention from a young men—many of whom
are addicted to substances and don’t have steady jobs—is all it takes for them
to get into relationships that may not be healthy for them,” she adds. The
conflicts are complex, delicate, and require a trauma-informed approach. “While
we cannot ask the girls to stop courting these men, we can build capacities
within them to make sounder decisions, get educated and find jobs—while
navigating domestic discord and poverty,” says Faiza. Over time, Shaik and her
team members encourage girls to bring their mothers to the centre to hold
one-to-one dialogues with them, and eventually get professional counselling.
Through months of work with Imara and her mother, Shaik—a counsellor
herself—has helped heal their relationship. At Rehnuma, the girls also learn
English speaking, computer science and legal education. Once sufficient trust
is established with the families, Shaik takes the girls on residential
programmes that explore subjects like gender and sexuality, law, and LGBTQIA+
education, which are conducted by specialists in these fields. Twenty-two-year-old
R Sumaiya, a student of mass media, has been able to navigate her phobia of the
police to become a confident young woman who can guide other women in distress.
“I was eight years old when I saw my friend's father brutally beat up her
mother. I accompanied her to the police station then, and the whole experience
scarred me for years,” she says. “But at Rehnuma, learning about our rights and
practical concepts like filing petitions, and the laws and legislations that
support us, helped me overcome this fear. With this knowledge, I am now able to
help others in distress situations,” she says. At Rehnuma, Sumaiya, like every
other woman at Mumbra, can subscribe to books at Rs 100 a month, and has found
a safe space to wear what she wants, engage freely about issues that remain
taboo within her community, learn about the world and most importantly, unwind.
“It is like a big family of sisters and mothers,” she says. “We share many of
the same struggles and wounds. And so we can also create joys and victories
that deeply matter to each of us, and our future generations.”
Source: yourstory.com
https://yourstory.com/socialstory/2024/08/rehnuma-library-young-muslim-women-sisterhood-hope
--------
In A
First, 28-Year-Old Deaf Woman Crowned Miss South Africa Amid Controversy
August
12, 2024
A
28-year-old woman has become the first deaf woman to be crowned Miss South
Africa after a divisive competition, as per a report in the BBC. Mia Le Roux,
who was diagnosed with profound hearing loss when she was aged one, expressed
her hope in her victory speech that her success will inspire those who feel
excluded to pursue their "wildest dreams, just like I am." She also
said that she wished to help those who were "financially excluded or
differently abled".
Ms Le
Roux was declared the pageant winner after finalist ChidimmaAdetshina, aged 23,
withdrew due to criticism regarding her Nigerian origin and allegations
regarding her mother's identity. Notably, MsAdetshina was born in South Africa
to a Nigerian father and a South African mother, but the family came from
Mozambique.
South
Africa's Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie, the leader of the Patriotic Alliance
party also questioned MsAdetshina's identity to represent in the contest.
"We truly cannot have Nigerians compete in our Miss SA competition. I
wanna get all facts before I comment but it gives funny vibes already," he
said on X.
MsAdetshina
said that the entire event felt like "black-on-black hate," bringing
attention to the specific form of xenophobia known as "Afrophobia"
that exists in South Africa and targets other Africans. She said that although
there were other contestants with South Asian and European names among the 16
women, she was the only one getting most of the criticism.
The
country's Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said on August 6 that the
department was investigating her citizenship at the request of the Miss South
Africa organisation. Following the investigation, the ministry revealed:
"Prima facie reasons exist to believe that fraud and identity theft may
have been committed by the person recorded in home affairs records as
ChidimmaAdetshina's mother." As per the Guardian, the statement added,
"An innocent South African mother, whose identity may have been stolen as
part of the alleged fraud committed by Adetshina's mother, suffered as a result
because she could not register her child."
On
August 8, the 23-year-old took to Instagram to announce her decision to
withdraw from the competition. "After much careful consideration, I have
made the difficult decision to withdraw myself from the competition for the
safety and well-being of my family and I. With the full support of the Miss
South Africa Organisation, I leave with a heart full of gratitude for this
amazing experience," she wrote.
Meanwhile,
Ms Le Roux uses a cochlear implant to help her hear. She claimed that before
she could pronounce her first words, she had to have speech treatment for two
years. The model, who is also a marketing manager said, "I am a proudly
South African deaf woman and I know what it feels like to be excluded. I know
now that I was put on this planet to break boundaries and I did it
tonight."
Source: ndtv.com
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/in-a-first-28-year-old-deaf-woman-crowned-miss-south-africa-amid-controversy-6318380
--------
‘Bring
Your Husband Written Permission’: Tough Laws Iranian Women Face To Get Job
11
August 2024
“For one
job interview dem ask me to provide written statement by my husband to prove
say I get im permission to work,” Neda, wey hold Master’s Degree for Oil and
Gas Engineering for Iran tok.
She say
she bin feel humiliated.
“I tell
dem I be adult and I fit make my own decisions”.
No be
only her get dis kain experience. Legally, married women for Iran need dia
husbands’ permission to work - dis na one out of di many legal barriers demdey
face wen dem wan enta di job market.
One 2024
report from The World Bank rank Iran among di worst kontris wen e come to
gendered legal barriers for di labour force (only Yemen plus di West Bank and
Gaza rank lower).
And oda
statistics also show dis. According to di World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global
Gender Gap recent report, Iran get di lowest rate of women participation for di
labour force among di 146 kontrisdem survey.
Women
represent more dan 50% of all di University graduates for Iran, yet na just 12%
of demdey for di workforce, based on one 2023 data.
Gendered
laws plus widespread sexual harassment and oda sexist views on women and dia
abilities make di work environment quite hostile for women.
Graphic
Most of
di women BBC follow tok for dis piece, say demdey feel say nobody dey take dem
seriously enough at work.
“Various
legal and cultural barriers dey keep women out of di workforce for Iran”,
NaderehChamlou, one former senior adviser to di World Bank tok.
MsChamlou
say factors like lack of legal frameworks and di legal limitations weydey in
place, di very wide gender pay gap plus di “very low glass ceiling” contribute
to women limited participation for di workforce for Iran.
Men know
say dem fit legally stop dia wives from working and some of demdey make use of
dis legal privilege.
Iranian
entrepreneur Saeed tell BBC say “one angry husband don barge enta our office,
and dey swing one metal rod for air and dey shout, ‘who give you permission to
hire my wife?’’’.
E say
now, imdey make sure e ask for husband written authorisation wen e wan hire
woman.
Razieh,
one young professional weydey work for one private company, recall similar
incident wen one angry man storm dia office and tell di CEO: ‘I no want my wife
to work for here’.
Di CEO,
Razieh, tell di woman, wey be senior accountant, “to go home and try to make
tins work wit her husband odawise she go need to resign, which she later do.”
One
Iranian woman work behind di counter at one high-end French sushi chain wey
open di previous week for northern Tehran for 2017WIA DIS FOTO COME FROM,GETTY
IMAGES
Wetin we
call dis foto,Some companies no wan hire young women and invest in dia training
if dia husbands no go gree make dem get career
Dis
legislation don also lead to why many companies dey refuse to hire young women,
NaderehChamloutok, as employers no wan “invest in training dis women den dia
husbands fit take dem out of work”.
And even
if demdey hired aftadem most time don fight dia own families and spouses to get
permission to work, women enta workforce wia discrimination to an extent dey
backed by law.
Women
produce saffron for Novin Saffron company for Mashhad, Iran, for 2021WIA DIS
FOTO COME FROM,GETTY IMAGES
Wetin we
call dis foto,Women - here, dey work for saffron factory- dem no dey considered
as main breadwinners, according to Iranian law
One of
such law na di article 1105 of di Islamic Republic’s Civil Code, in which di
husband dey defined as di head of di family and di ‘main breadwinner’.
Dis one
mean say demdey prioritize men for employment ova women. Women dey expected to
work for small salary compared to dia male counterparts if demdemdey offered di
position.
Razweydey
her late 20s and don change jobs few times tok say everywia she don work na
women jobs demdey sacrifice first.
“Di last
place I work, wen restructure dey almost all dose weydem ask to leave na
women,” she tok.
Anoda
woman wey ask make dem no mention her identity tell di BBC she decide to leave
her job afta more dan one decade and stay for house “becos I know I no go ever
get promoted”.
“As long
as men dey available, even if less qualified, I no go never dey considered for
pay rise or promotion. na waste of my time,” she tok.
Di fact
say women no dey legally considered breadwinners and providers for di
household, impact wedademdey qualify for benefits and bonuses.
For many
cases, if demdey eligible “di benefits dem accumulate throughout dia years of
employment fit no apply to dia families, benefits like dia pension”,
MsChamloutok.
“So,
demdey reduce di return women get from working and wetindem fit bring to dia
families,” di former senior adviser to di World Bank add.
Iranian women wey no dey follow di compulsory
hijab siddon for Bam-e Tehran (Roof of Tehran) overlooking di city of Tehran,
2024WIA DIS FOTO COME FROM,GETTY IMAGES
Wetin we
call dis foto,Jobs for di public sector no dey always dey open to women wey no
dey wear some of di strictest forms of hijab
Sepideh
get Master Degree for Arts from Tehran University She bin dey teach and run
independent art projects for thre, but for some years she stopdey work.
“Afta
graduation I tink say I go fit just make living like many of di men I sabi, but
dem design di social, political and economic structure for way wey make having
a proper career for women dey unattainable dream,” Sepideh tell BBC.
Di
compulsory hijab law na di centre of widespread protests for Iran two years ago
and kontinu to be one of di main topics of dispute and political dissent for di
kontri.
Dis law
also make different jobs, particularly for goment and public sector,
inaccessible to women wey no wan conform to some of di strictest forms of
hijab.
Di
‘missing middle’
‘For
Iran e get wetin I dey call di missing middle,’ NaderehChamloutok, she explain
say wetin she mean na “middle aged, mid-educated; high school educated, middle
class women wey no dey work”.
“Di
legal permission from husbands to work, alongside di lower retirement age for
women for Iran na 55, dem close dat age group wey be say for odakontris
normally nadem di workforce”.
Iranian
pastry chef ShahrzadShokouhivand (R), works in the kitchen of her luxury pastry
company for TehranWIA DIS FOTO COME FROM,GETTY IMAGES
Wetin we
call dis foto,Companiesweyna women get or demdey operate dey help oda women get
into labour force. Dis luxury pastry company for Tehran employ 70 pipo, most of
dem women
Sanctions
and mismanagement don cripple Iran economy.
One IMF
report show say economic growth dey connected wit greater female labour
participation, e estimate say if dem bring female employment rate for Iran to
di employment level of di male, e fit boost di kontri domestic product (GDP) by
around 40%.
Although,
for NaderehChamlou view, dem no get “active or conscious political will” at
present wey go facilitate changes to bring women into di workforce.
But she
believe say women for Iran dey take mata into dia own hands and demdey create
small independent businesses to open up di labour market for dem.
“Some of
di most innovative business ideas, from cooking apps to digital retail
platforms, na business wey women start,” she explain, as she see one “true
private sector for Iran” wey be say na women get most of dem.
Source: bbc.com
https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/articles/czdp45ydqvjo
--------
Iran’s
president taps nuclear negotiator as foreign minister, woman for housing post
11
August 2024
Iranian
President Masoud Pezeshkian presented his cabinet to parliament on Sunday,
notably including a woman and a perceived Western-friendly diplomat as the
country’s foreign minister.
Parliament
Speaker Mohammed BagherQalibaf read out the list of proposed ministers to
lawmakers. The hardliner-dominated chamber will have two weeks to review
qualifications and give a vote of confidence to the proposed ministers.
For the
post of foreign minister, Pezeshkian named Abbas Araghchi, 61, a former Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps member and career diplomat who led nuclear
negotiations for Tehran in 2013-2021.
Araghchi,
who holds a PhD in political thought from the University of Kent, was chief
negotiator on the team that reached a deal with world powers in 2015 to cap
Tehran’s nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions.
In 2018,
then-president Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal and imposed more
sanctions on Iran.
Pezeshkian,
who took office in late July, had advocated during the election campaign to
open Iran up to the world, vowing to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement and ease
sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Following
the killing of Hamas terror group leader Ismail Haniyeh on July 31, when he was
in Iran for Pezeshkian’s swearing-in ceremony, Araghchi took to X to send his
“condolences to the great nation of Palestine” for the death of Haniyeh in a
“terrorist attack by Israel.” Israel has not taken responsibility for Haniyeh’s
death.
“Undoubtedly,
the Israeli occupying regime will pay a heavy price, and it will not achieve
its ominous goal of putting obstacles in the path of Iran’s new government at
the outset of its endeavor,” he wrote.
In his
proposed cabinet, Pezeshkian also tapped FarzanehSadegh, a 47-year-old woman,
as roads and housing minister. Sadegh, currently a director in the ministry,
would become only the second female minister in Iran since the 1979 Islamic
Revolution. It is unclear, however, whether she will be approved.
The
hardline parliament seeks more cultural and social restrictions on women based
on its interpretations of Islamic sharia. Many lawmakers voiced their
opposition when her name was read by the speaker during Sunday’s session.
The only
previous female minister to be approved by parliament since the revolution was
in 2009 when then-Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad secured a post for
MarziehVahidDastgerdi as health minister.
Pezeshkian
proposed EskandarMomeni, a relatively moderate police general, as interior
minister. The ministry deals with enforcing the mandatory wearing of the
Islamic veil on women.
In 2022,
the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody after she was arrested for improper
wearing of the hijab led to nationwide protests.
Pezeshkian,
then a lawmaker, wrote at the time that it was “unacceptable in the Islamic
Republic to arrest a girl for her hijab and then hand over her dead body to her
family.”
In
addition to calls for better relations with the West and a return to the
nuclear accord, Pezeshkian has suggested that he wants less enforcement of the
hijab law.
But the
president has limited powers, and is tasked with implementing state policies
outlined by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, who has held the post
since 1989.
Pezeshkian
is also likely to face opposition in passing legislation that supports his
stated program, as the parliament is dominated by hard-liners who mainly
supported other candidates during the June-July presidential election.
The
reformist president has named as his future interior minister General
EskandarMomeni, a 60-year-old police commander and former member of the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps.
General
Aziz Nasirzadeh, a former commander of the Iranian Air Force and deputy chief
of staff of the armed forces since 2021, is set to take the helm of the defense
ministry.
The
president has chosen as his future oil minister Mohsen Paknezhad, a 58-year-old
executive director with a long career in the country’s energy industry.
Parliament
is set to begin reviewing candidates on Monday and submit them to a vote by
lawmakers starting Saturday.
In late
July, Pezeshkian had announced that he would “consult and coordinate” with
Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the final say in all matters of state, to present
the final list of ministers.
On
Saturday, the president kept in his position the head of the Atomic Energy
Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, who has held the post since 2021.
Eslami
was placed on a sanctions list by the United States and the European Union in
2008, when he was deputy defense minister.
Source: timesofisrael.com
https://www.timesofisrael.com/irans-president-nominates-former-nuclear-negotiator-as-new-foreign-minister/
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iran-jail-elaheh-noloufar-journalis-mahsa/d/132918