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              Iran's Presidential Candidates Courting Female Vote

   by Jeff Seldin,  Shepol Ebnabbasi

   Iran is a country of more than 70 million people - almost half of them
   women, some of whom play political roles but are barred from running
   for president.What role will women play in deciding Iran's next
   president in this month's election?
   When Iranians go to the polls on June 14, they will get to select one
   of eight presidential candidates - all but one older than 50 and all
   men. Iran's Guardian Council ruled last month a woman cannot be
   president even though 30 women sought to be included in the race.
   That worries Iranian women's rights activists, who say Iran's clerics,
   led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were trying to send a
   message.
   "They think that Iranian women - they should stay at home and it's
   better they make them more limited than this," said long-time activist
   and lawyer Mehrangiz Kar.
   But some of the candidates appear to be reaching out to women voters
   anyway.
   When Mohammad Reza Aref, the 61-year-old university professor seen as
   the leading reformer in the race, registered to run, he did so with his
   wife.
   It quickly drew comparisons to Turkey, where Islamist-leaning Prime
   Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared in campaigns with his wife. Iran
   hardliners criticize the husband/wife appearances as "Western."
   Still, some of the more conservative candidates have promoted joint
   appearances with their wives - something current President Mahmoud
   Ahmadinejad also did when he was a candidate.
   Kar said it means little.
   "Sometimes you can see some women beside their husband during
   elections. It seems something like a propaganda for the men and not for
   women," she stated.
   But some analysts say the ability of women to influence the election
   outcome is not out of the question. They point to Mohammad Khatami's
   election in 1997, when he appealed to women and minorities.
   In the last presidential election, in 2009, the four final candidates
   spoke on women's issues.
   Analyst Geneive Abdo with the Stimson Center said this election is much
   different.
   "Unlike last time, there are no candidates that are inspiring people,"
   she noted.
   Despite that, a hunger for inspiration, especially among women, seems
   to linger.
   In recent weeks -- this video showing former president Akbar Hashemi
   Rafsanjani during his last campaign -- has gone viral on Iran's social
   media sites.  In it, a young woman criticizes the societal status of
   Iran's women. The video shows Rafsanjani with tears forming in his
   eyes.
   But voters cannot choose Rafsanjani this time. The Guardian Council
   barred his candidacy during its final cut.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/irans-presidential-candidates-courtin
   g-female-vote/1677028.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/irans-presidential-candidates-courting-female-vote/1677028.html