The Rise and Fall of Fa'ezeh Hashemi: Women in Iranian Elections

Author(s): Ziba Mir-Hosseini

Source: Middle East Report, No. 218 (Spring, 2001), pp. 8-11
Published by: Middle East Research and Information Project
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1559303
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 UP FRONT

The Rise Fall of Fa'ezeh Hashemi

Women in Iranian Elections
Ziba Mir-Hosseini

The2000 Majleselections, in whichthe reformistsgaineda landslidevictory,were a furtherimportantstep in

the arduoustransitionfromtheocracyto democracy,a process that will doubtlesscontinuefor some time to
come. Thepainfulchallengesof this time of transitionwere nowheremoreevidentthanin the case of Fa'ezeh
Hashemi.

oth politics and women'spoliticalactivitiesare radi- dential election-an election which is likely to turn into a
cally different under the Islamic Republic of Iran from referendumon the future of theocracy in Iran.
what they were before the 1979 Revolution. But one
fundamental fact has not changed: Politics is still the ofthe "Reformists"
TheEmergence
domain of men, and women who enter the field tend to
be related-either by blood or by marriage-to promi- As the younger daughter of then President Ali Akbar
nent men. Most women politicians are hostages, vul- Hashemi-Rafsanjani, Fa'ezehentered politics in the course
nerable to the political fortunes of men, and only a few of the 1996 elections for the Fifth Majles. She was the only
have managed to break free. This vulnerability is revealed woman on the list of the Kargozaran-eSazandegi (Servants
during parliamentary elections, when in some ways it of Construction). The Kargozaranemerged that year fol-
parallels the vulnerability of the people as a whole, who lowing a disagreement between Rafsanjaniand the power-
have been treated as political minors by the theocratic ful rightist coalition over the inclusion of five candidates he
power elite. had nominated for their election list for Tehran.' Angered
The unexpected victory of Mohammad Khatami in the by their rejection, Rafsanjanigave the go-ahead for the for-
1997 presidential elections changed the battle lines and the mation of a moderate rightist grouping, to run on a plat-
rules of the game. It brought about a reformist movement form of "construction,"the motto of Rafsanjani'stwo terms
and a free press, which tried, against intense and sometimes as president. He did not know then that this would lay the
violent opposition from part of the clerical establishment, foundation for a serious challenge to himself. The Servants
to democratize the Islamic Republic. The 2000 Majles elec- of Construction included two of Rafsanjani'sproteges who
tions, in which the reformistsgained a landslidevictory,were later became the backbone of the "reformistmovement":
a furtherimportant step in the arduous transition from the- Gholam-Hossein Karbaschi (then the powerful and popu-
ocracy to democracy,a process that will doubtless continue lar mayor of Tehran), and Ataollah Mohajerani (who be-
for some time to come. came Khatami'sminister of culture and Islamic guidance).
The painful challenges of this time of transition were Fa'ezehbrought excitement and glamourto the 1996 elec-
nowhere more evident than in the case of Fa'ezehHashemi. tions. She broke the unwritten dress code for women politi-
Her rise in the elections of 1996 and fall in those of 2000 cians by wearing-underneath the obligatory (for public
can tell us something of how far Iranian society moved in figures) chador-jeans and a patterned scarf tied so that her
the intervening four years, and can also give us an indica- chin was exposed. She promoted women's sports and advo-
tion of the challenges that underline the May 2001 presi- cated women's rights, identifying herselfsquarelyas a "mod-
researcher
Ziba Mir-Hosseini,afreelanceanthropologist, andfilmmaker, is a research ernist" in the long-running battle between modernity and
at the CentreforNearandMiddleEasternStudies,SOAS,in London.
associate tradition. This made her the darling of the "reformists"

218*'SPRING
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2001
88MIDDLE
(as they became known after
Khatami'svictory in May 1997)
and the targetof attacksby their
opponents, the "conservatives."
Her pre-electionrallieswere ha-
rassedby the Ansar-eHezbollah,
a newly emergedpressuregroup
rumoredto be under "conserva-
tive" control. "Ayeshehcame by
camel and Fa'ezehis coming by
motor-bike (Ayeshehba shotor,
Fa'ezehba motor),"they chanted,
alludingto the Prophet's wifewho
led the Battleof the Camelagainst
Ali, the first Shi'aImam. Photo-
graphsof her cyclingand skating
in supportof women'srightto par-
ticipate in sportswere circulated
as proofof her "Islamically incor-
rect"ways.
Allthisseemedtoincrease Faeze's
The
popularity. public welcomed her.
To themshewasfreshairin thestale
andsuffocating worldenvisionedby
the cerics.In thepolls,shewon the
secondhighestvoteinTehran.Itwas
rumoredthatshehadin facttopped
thepoll,buttheconservative candi-
dateNateq-Nouri-whowasreport-
edlybeinggroomedto be the next
president-wasdecaredthewinner:
awomandefatingaclericinthecapi-
tal wouldhavebeenan intolerable
blowto thedeeplyrootedpatriarchy
intheIranian systei.Within
political
this patriarchalsystem,Fa'ezehhad
to defendwomen'srightsduringher
termin parliament.

TheFifthMajles
Frustrates
Reform
The Fifth Majleshad the highest withAcoverphotoofFa'ezeh
Hashemi
fromZanan,
a women's inIran.Thisissueranthefirstexclusive
magazine interview
Hashemi.
numberof women deputiesever
(14),yetit provedto havetheworstrecordon women'srights.2 The followingyearthe Majlesintroducedanotherbill to
Its newlycreatedWomen'sCommission,in the nameof the enablethe conservative-dominated judiciaryto prosecutere-
defenseofwomen'srights,proposedtwobillsthatbecameinfa- formistjournalists.The presswas now the main battlefield.
mousfor theiranti-womenslant:one stipulatedthatdoctors InJuly1998, Fa'ezehherselfhadlaunchedZan, the first-ever
couldonlytreatpatientsof thesamesex,andthesecondaimed women'snewspaper in Iran,butit too fellvictimto thestruggle.
to preventthe pressfromprintingfeatureson women,andto In April1999, the Revolutionary Courtorderedits closure;
haltthelivelydebateon women'srights.Bothbillswerepartof one pretextwasthatit hadprintedpartof a Nowruz(Iranian
a concertedeffortby the conservativesto frustratethe reforms New Year)messageto the IranianpeoplefromFarahPahlavi,
promisedby Khatami, by using his own slogan: "the ruleof the exiledformerEmpress.The wholetextof the message-
law."Fa'ezehandotherreformists in the Majlesopposedboth prefacedby a denunciation-had in factbeenprintedearlier
bills,buttheywerein a minority.The twolawswereratifiedin bya papersupportingtheconservatives. Fa'ezehdefendedher
July1998, butwereso farremovedfromthe realityof Iranian paperin court,andthe reformistpressstoodup forZan,but
societythatit wasimpossibleto implementthem. to no avail.Her fatherremainedsilent.

9
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2001 9
 Opponentsof reformdid not hesitateto use nakedvio- reformist cleric and student of the silenced Ayatollah
lence. During autumn 1998, a numberof pro-reformin- Montazeri,wrotea critiqueof the doctrineof the absolute
tellectualsandwriterswerebrutallymurderedin whatcame rule of the jurist (velayat-emotlaqeh-e faqih) from within
to be known as the "serialkillings."A list circulatedwith Shi'atheology,comparingthe uncheckedpowersof theVali-
the namesof 150 intellectualsand writerswhose murder ye Faqihwith thoseof absolutemonarchs.He was arrested
was saidto be a "religiousduty"for guardiansof the values in June 1998 and, followinga much-publicizedtrialin the
of the Revolution.The countrywas grippedby fear.Then SpecialClericalCourt,sentencedto 18 monthsprisonfor
in July 1999, followinga peacefulstudentdemonstration "insultingthe IslamicRepublic"and "disturbing minds."
againstthe passingof the pressbill and the closureof the JustaweekbeforetheFebruary 2000 elections,thereformist
reformistpaperSalam,uniformedand "plain-clothes" po- newspapers, whichhad assumedthe roleof politicalparties,
lice stormeda TehranUniversitydormitory.The security issueda listof 30 candidates,
thequotaforTehran.Fivewomen
services'unprovokedviolence on this occasioninfuriated wereon thislist:JamilehKadivar wasoneof them,butFa'ezeh
the students.Universitiesin Tehran,Tabrizand elsewhere Hashemiwasnot.Jamilehalsoappeared on thelistsof candi-
sawdemonstrationsreminiscentof thoseleadingup to the datesissuedbythepowerfulandpro-reform studentnetwork
1978-79 Revolution. BureauforFosteringUnity(Daftar-eTahkim-eVahdat),and
the ParticipationFront (Jebheh-eMosharekat)headedby
The2000MajlesElections Mohammad Reza Khatami,the president'sbrother;both
groupsresistedallpressure to includeRafsanjani, thetopcan-
Fa'ezehHashemisidedwith the reformistsduringall these didatefortheanti-reform camp,on theirlists.The Kargozaran
upheavals.But in the runupto the February
2000 elections, didincludehim andalsohisdaughterFa'ezeh.In thisway,for
shelostsignificantreformist,studentandyouthsupport,be- the firsttimesincethe Revolution,the listsproducedby po-
causeshe did not distanceherself liticalgroupsbecamemutuallyex-
from her father'sdecisionat the -
clusive. In previous elections,
endof 1999to enterthe parlia- Take aack
mentaryrace.The conservatives,Taen abac b!y the scale1the
scale o.f of some candidates,
Rafsanjani, wouldappear
such as
on the
havingfailedfor threeyearsto si- their defeat, thieconservatives listsof all politicalgroups.
lencethereformistsandtheirpress, A highturnoutanda landslide
nominated Rafsanjani astheirtop struck back in f I force.They
u reformistvictoryrevealedthe ex-
candidate.Despite their differ- b mnr5Ataf tent to whichpeoplehadtrusted
enceswithhim,theysawhimas blamed the
the rel irmilnewspa- thereformist press.InTehran, 28
theirlastchanceto avoidlosing pers for theirrfailure in the of the 30 candidateson the re-
controlof the SixthMajles.The formistlist gainedenoughvotes
reformistpresstook up the chal- polls and seennied determined in the first round to enter Parlia-
lenge,makingRafsanjani's
politi- to by
nat- ment. JamilehKadivarpolledthe
cal record-his undemocraticstyle to a reven
reve g1 by l
ile
second highest vote, after
asmajlesspeaker(1980-1989)and ing them. MohammadRezaKhatamiand
as president(1989-97), his be- followed by Ali-Reza Nouri,
hind-the-scenes dealings,his vast Abdollah Nouri's brother.
wealth,hissuspected linkswiththe Rafsanjaniscrapedby, placing
1998 serialkillings-regulartopicsof theireditorialsandes- thirtiethon the Tehranlist. Fa'ezehdid not makeit at all.
says.Moredaringreformists suchasAkbarGanji,AbbasAbdi For Rafsanjani,who had ambitionsto succeedthe current
and MohammadQuchanichallengedRafsanjani, who dis- leader(theVali-yeFaqih,AyatollahKhamene'i),this was a
missedthe journalists'concernsas "thework of Satan,"to humiliatingexperience.It becameevenmoreembarrassing
publicdebate.A full-scalepresswarensuedbetweenthe re- when the reformistpapershinted at vote-riggingin some
formistandconservative papers,with Rafsanjaniasthe main pollingstations,andrevealedthatFa'ezehhadwrittena let-
subject.A dutiful daughter,Fa'ezeh tookher side-an
father's ter to the electoralofficeaskingfor hervotesto be counted
act of politicalsuicidethat she undertookdespiterepeated in herfather'sname.
warningsin the reformistpress. ApartfromJamilehKadivar,the fourotherwomenfrom
Fa'ezehHashemi'splace was taken by women such as the presslist, along with two others, enteredthe Sixth Majles
JamilehKadivar,who has establishedstronglinkswith the forTehran.Theywerejoinedbyfivemorewomenelectedfrom
reformists.In February1999, she nominatedherselffor the Dashtestan,Isfahan,Orumiyeh,Mashhadand Shiraz.All 11
City Council in Tehran,and was elected. Her husband womenarereformists, belongingto differenttendencies,but
AtaollahMohajerani,Khatami'sministerof cultureand Is- mostly nominated the
by Participation Front.Elevenwomenis
lamicguidance,nurtureda pressthatwas freerfor a while fewerthanthe 14 in theFifthMajles;thiscanlargelybe attrib-
than at any time in Iranianhistory,for which he was im- uted to the fact that the reformistlists includedfew female
peached in the Majles in spring 1999-unsuccessfully.3 names.Moreover, noneof thewomenon theconservative lists
Kadivaris a householdname.Jamileh'sbrotherMohsen,a wereelectedin 2000. In theFifthMajles,10 of the 14 women

218 *"SPRING2001
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electedwerenominatedby differentrightistgroups,andseven political career for the time being seems to be over. She is
of theselaterjoinedthe anti-reformistcamp. the very product of the patrimonial style of politics in Iran,
Reassuredand perhapsover-confidentafter the clearly which is now openly debated and challenged by the reform-
massivepublic supportfor their candidates,the reformist ist movement. What brought her into politics was her fa-
pressgrew bolderin their confrontationwith Rafsanjani, ther-who continues to see himself as the nation'spatriarch.
the only conservativecandidateelected from a largecity. What ended her political careerwas her inability to break
Even his electionwas challenged:the reformistcandidate away from her father'sstyle of politics, and to join the new
who had polled thirty-firstin Tehranlodged a complaint one proposed by the reformists.
with the electionbody.Recountingof theTehranvoteswent What could Fa'ezehdo? How could she abandon her fa-
on for overtwo months,and as the day approachedwhen ther?Her dilemma and her vulnerabilityare encoded in her
the Majleswasdue to open (June7), the Councilof Guard- appearanceand actions. Her jeans and chador,her advocacy
ians-the conservative-dominated supervisorybody-still of women'srightsand her disregardfor democraticprinciples
delayedratifying the result. are only the outer manifestations of the painful challenges
Takenabackby the scaleof theirdefeat,the conservatives and contradictions of a time of transition.These contradic-
struckbackin fullforce.Theyblamedthe reformistnewspa- tions will suffusethe May 2001 presidentialelections, as they
persfor theirfailurein the polls and seemeddeterminedto did the Majleselections 15 months earlier,but this time with
takerevengeby eliminatingthem.Severalprominentreform- a new impact and intensity.The clash between forces of the-
istjournalistsweredetained,andin spring2000, in whathas ocracyand democracywas thrown into a sharperreliefas the
becomeknownasa "creeping coupd'etat,"over20 reformist Sixth Majles, called the "Majlesof Reforms"(majleseslahat),
and
newspapers journals were closed down.Deprivedof their took the place of the press as the battleground. The theo-
mainplatform,the reformistsnow fearedthe electionresults cratic forces have so far managed to frustratemost of the
wouldbe cancelled.A crisismoreseriousthanthe 1999 stu- legislativemoves of the Sixth Majles, but in turn the Majles
dentrevoltloomed,butwasavertedthroughtheintervention has not only been chipping awayat the patriarchalpolitics of
of the leader,who orderedthe Councilof Guardiansto end the Islamic Republic but has questioned the very Islamic le-
theTehranrecountandannouncethe results. gitimacy of gender inequality.At the end of 2000, the Majles
TheTehranelectionresultwasfinallyannouncedjusta few ratifieda bill to eliminate discriminationbetween female and
daysbeforetheopeningof theMajles. Thereweresomechanges: male students in regardto scholarshipsto study abroad.The
two reformistcandidateswerereplacedby conservatives and firstbill of its kind that the Majlesreformistsbroughtto honor
was
Rafsanjani promoted from thirtieth to
place twentieth.This their pre-election promise to do away with gender inequali-
was a lastdesperatemove aimedat increasinghis chanceof ties in law-put them into directconfrontationwith the cleri-
electionas Majlesspeaker,but it backfiredin the publiceye. cal establishment. A number of high ranking clerics wrote
On theeveof theopeningof theMajles,Rafsanjani decidedto open letters to the Majles demanding withdrawalof the bill.
withdrawaltogether, to avoidthe possiblefurtherembarrass- The supervisoryCouncil of Guardians-the main bastion of
mentof havinghis credentials rejectedby theMajles. theocracy-rejected the bill as "un-Islamic."The Council of-
Inthemonthsaftertheelections,theconservatives displayed feredno legaljustificationfor its rejection,but could no longer
theirvindictiveness.Morereformistnewspapers wereclosed, ignorethe impactof its decisionon people, forwhich it blames
andmostof thereformist writers
whohadchallenged Rafsanjani the Majles. Ayatollah Meshkini, the Fridayprayerleader in
werearrested andthrownin jailon one excuseor another.At- Qom, said it all in his sermon: "Ratificationof such a bill by
tackson theMajleswerereportedly planned.Theannualmeet- the Majlescausesthe youths antagonism towardsthe clerical
ing of the Bureauto FosterUnity,held in Khorramabad in establishmentand the Council of Guardians."4
August,wasviolentlydisruptedby conservative-backed thugs. In a country where over 60 percent of the population are
Meanwhilethe damagingrevelations continued.One of the under 25, this antagonism is the main force behind the re-
mostdamningwasthe confessionofAmir-Farshad Ebrahimi, form movement. It is a winning card in the hands of its
a breakaway memberof the notoriousAnsar-eHezbollah.His currentleader,Mohammad Khatami, for the May elections.
videotapedconfession,widelycirculated,revealedthe gang's Will he use it? At the time of writing, he had not even de-
link with the conservatives,and eventhat they had received clared his candidacy. U
moneyfromtheKargozaran to disrupttheirpre-electionrallies
forFifthMajles.The groupalsotookmoneyto film Fa'ezeh's Endnotes
campaignforwomen'srightto cycleandto demonstrate against 1 In the Majleselections,in the absenceof politicalparties,factionsandgroupspublishlists
her.Accordingto Ebrahimi, Kargozaran's analysiswasthatthe of theirfavoredcandidatesfor everyconstituency.Eachcity and provincialregionformsa
Ansarandotherextremistgangswereso unpopularthatwho- constituencywith a numberof seats accordingto population.Votersenter the names of
candidates to the total numberof the seatsin theirconstituency.If the constituencyhas
evertheyharassed anddisruptedwouldgainthepeople'svote. 30 seats,theuptop 30 vote-gettersareelected.
2 Haleh Esfandiari,"The Majlesand Women'sIssuesin the IslamicRepublicof Iran,"in
MahnazAfkhamiand ErikaFriedl,eds., In theEyeofthe Storm:Womenin Post-Revolutionary
Patriarchy
Challenging Iran(Syracuse,NY: SyracuseUniversityPress,1994).
3 Attempts to remove him continued, and in December 2000 Khatamiaccepted his
Ebrahimi'srevelations-whethertrue or not-further dis- resignation.
tanced Fa'ezehHashemi from the reformistcamp. Her 4 Fora report,see Hayat-eNow,January25, 2001.

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