It was barely 4 months ago that 3 men
were deported for being too handsome
and now despite promises made by
Iran's new President, Hassan Rowhani,
that women's civil rights will improve
under his government, a city councilor
has been barred from office for being
"too sexy"
Nina Siakhali Moradi was prevented from
taking up a post on the city council in
Qazvin, the ancient capital of the Persian
Empire, 100 miles north west of Tehran,
after her election was overturned by
religious conservatives.
Even with more than 10,000 votes in the
June election, putting her 14th out of
163 candidates and winning her a
council seat, the 27-year-old engineer
and website designer had her political
career cut short because she was
deemed too attractive to take up the
post.
"We don't want a catwalk model on the
council," a senior official in Qazvin told
local press.
Moradi ran under the slogan "Young
ideas for a young future," pushing for
better women's rights in Qazvin, the
restoration of the old city and greater
youth involvement in town planning.
She had been vetted and approved as a
candidate by Iran's judiciary and
intelligence services.
Her liberal views appeared popular with
the electorate. Moradi's campaign
posters showed her wearing strict hijab
without a strand of hair on display.
Despite this, conservative religious
groups launched protests to demand
her disqualification as soon as her
election was confirmed.
In a letter to the governor of Qazvin, a
coalition of religious groups condemned
the "vulgar and anti-religious" posters
and said they breached Islamic law.
News website IranWire reported that
there were other objections to her
campaign. According to the website, her
headquarters became a gathering place
for local young people, whose behavior
and clothing provoked criticism from her
opponents, mostly older conservative
men.
The complaint was challenged but
ultimately upheld. She was disqualified
for not "observing the Islamic norms."
Citing local media, IranWire reported that
authorities had also confiscated the
campaign posters of two other female
candidates, Maryam Nakhostin-Ahmadi
and Shahla Atefeh, and detained both for
questioning.
President Rowhani is expected to bring
a new era in women's rights. In a
televised debate during his election
campaign, he announced: "I will form a
women's affairs ministry to return their
trampled rights to them."
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