Iran Establishes Special Parliament for Women

According to a provincial official, ‘Women’s Parliament’ is a new initiative based on which female representatives of all cities and villages of the province will gather in a council to discuss and help resolve local issues regarding women.

Just like the national parliament, the 109 female members of this local parliament will discuss plans and motions, and if approved, will send them to the Provincial Commission on Women’s Affairs.

“Khorasan Razavi province in northeastern Iran is the first province to establish such special parliament for women,” Iranian Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs Massoumeh Ebtekar said.

In the latest City and Village Council elections in Khorasan Razavi, 290 women candidates managed to open their way into the local councils, which shows a 20-percent growth compared with the last year’s elections, she added.

“This shows that the presence of women in the decision-making processes in various cultural, social, political and environmental fields across the cities and villages is highly significant,” a Farsi report by ISNA quoted her as saying.

Speaking in a meeting with members of local NGOs, Ebtekar added, “The formation of women’s parliament is a turning point.”

“As of today, women will play a key role in the decisions made on the municipal affairs of the province. The government will monitor their decisions to measure their practical effects on the society. Meanwhile, their non-governmental and voluntary efforts to attract more women in the executive field of the government are taken seriously by the government,” she said.

The vice-president went on saying the significant move in Khorasan Razavi province can decrease dramatically the social problems of the province. “We are closely monitoring the changes and we are sure that they will have prominent effects on the society,” she said.