„Despite persistent attempts by women to find a voice in the politics of the Islamic Republic, their presence has been minimal and, for the most part, cosmetic. It is now almost the norm that at important historical junctures, the male-dominated conservative establishment calls upon women to perform their ‚Islamic duty‘ and participate in elections. Once the elections are over, however, women’s demands are forgotten. …
Even at the height of the reform period in the two terms in office of President Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005) in which there were 11 women MPs, no laws were changed to bring women any closer to equal rights. ‚I was really keen to improve women‘s advancement to top jobs in the sixth Majlis,‘ says Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, an outspoken woman MP in the Reformist-led parliament of May 2000, now in exile in the US. ‚I advocated equal chances for top jobs for women. But almost everyone in the parliament, even my own reformist colleagues, disagreed with me.‘ Her point is crucial because it illustrates the fact that many of the women members of parliament do not necessarily seek equal rights even in the discriminatory laws of marriage divorce family or inheritance. This is either because they do not believe women should have equal rights or because they fear they will have no chance of success in Iran’s political structure.“ (Die wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin der London School of Economics and Political Science Massoumeh Torfeh: „After elections, Iranian women’s demands are forgotten“)
