Iran takes an overdue step

Here’s a piece of good news not just for women in Iran, but for all sisters around the world.

The British newspaper The Guardian reports that Iran is set to appoint its first female ambassador since the 1979 Islamic revolution, a “breakthrough for women in government” under President Hassan Rouhani.

The state news agency reported that Marzieh Afkham, who is Iran’s first foreign ministry spokeswoman, will be appointed ambassador to an East Asian country. She will be only the second female ambassador that Iran has had, following Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, a three-time MP known for her advocacy of the family in the years preceding the ouster of the Shah. Dolatshahi was a prime promoter of the family protection law which gave women the right of divorce and child custody, and became ambassador to Denmark in 1976.

Afkham’s appointment, however, only serves to highlight the status of women in Iran, which is still in many ways subordinate to men. The Guardian reports that a woman in Iran needs the permission of her husband or legal custodian, such as her father, to travel abroad. The government has also been “reluctant to promote women who are single and not married.” The ambassador-designate reportedly married last year.

Gissou Nia, deputy director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI), a leading rights group based in New York, hailed Afkham’s appointment, saying that it was a “positive step” although it “doesn’t alleviate the ongoing concerns about pending legislation in the Iranian parliament that seeks to restrict women’s role in the public sphere.”

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Rouhani said recently that he saw as his government’s duty to create equal opportunities for women, bemoaning, for one, crackdowns by the religious police on women “who push the boundaries of the mandatory hijab (veil) by showing their hair.”

The Guardian observes that “despite a series of setbacks for women’s rights after the Islamic revolution, women continued to hold government jobs.” The new ambassador, for one, is a veteran in the diplomatic service, having served in it for 30 years as a ministerial aide and last as head of its public relations department.

In 2013, following the presidential election that brought Rouhani to power, Iran’s new US-educated foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, appointed Afkham as his spokeswoman, “the first Iranian woman to hold such a high-profile role that demanded regular contact with the press.”

“Women have held senior jobs in Tehran in the past but this is the first time a woman will lead a foreign mission in post-revolutionary Iran,” The Guardian comments. Mansoureh Sharifisadr was chargé d’affaires, or deputy head of mission, in Japan. She is currently the director general of the foreign ministry’s human rights and women affairs department.

The highest ranking position ever held by a woman in the Islamic republic was that of a cabinet minister. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi was appointed under Rouhani’s predecessor, the hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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It seems, then, that while Afkham’s appointment holds a lot of promise for Iranian women, it is but the first step toward the attainment of gender equality in Iran’s bureaucracy and diplomatic circles. One woman does not a gender revolution make.

I can only hope that Afkham sees her appointment as not just a one-time solo achievement, but rather as the first of what is hopefully a string of appointments of women to official posts and responsibilities. And from there, would it be too much to expect an expansion and recognition of all Iranian women and girls’ rights and equality with men?

After all, a society in which half the population, the female half, is held back and not recognized for its capabilities is a society that is still backward and facing little prospect of advancement. A country needs to harness the full energies and capabilities of all its citizens if it is to attain its development goals. Gender equality is not just fair and truly democratic, it is also more efficient and less wasteful of a country’s human resources.

So best wishes to Ms Afkham, as well as to all those working for and investing in the transformation of Iranian society.

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For those of you sweltering in the Metro Manila heat, a trip to Baguio is a good idea, especially next week, when, in addition to the (marginally?) cooler weather, there’s the promise of “cool” music courtesy of the Manila Symphony Orchestra.

Journalist and self-appointed impresario Babeth Lolarga writes to alert readers about an April 25 dinner-concert “Bach vs Beatles” at the Hill Station/Casa Vallejo in the summer capital. This year’s concert is the second to be held outside Metro Manila in line with the MSO’s concert season theme “Music Everywhere,” and offers a mash-up of classical pieces and Beatles favorites.

Tickets are at P950 with dinner at 6:30 p.m. followed by the concert at 8:15 p.m. Tourists from Manila are invited to avail themselves of special packages that include round trips, accommodations and three meals at P4,600 for solo trippers, P7,000 for two persons, P11,200 for three, and P13,600 for four.

The MSO visit to Baguio actually begins with a free but invitational matinee concert, “Soundtracks and Symphonies,” at the Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary for the religious community that is housing the MSO members and their instruments. This is followed by a free master class for the University of Baguio’s instrument majors and teachers.

For inquiries/reservations, e-mail [email protected] or call (074) 424-2734 or (02) 664-4850. Please ask for Aika or Myla.