Attention to women seems to be on the agenda of electioneering campaigns for principlists and reformists in the upcoming parliamentary election. However, despite uncertainty about their participation in the election—both in terms of their willingness and the Guardian Council’s vetting decisions—the reformists may have beaten the principlists at the game by elevating female politician Azar Mansuri to be the camp’s leader.
Mansuri, 59, was born and raised in Shahr-e Rey in the south of Tehran province and continues to live further south in Varamin—a simple fact that sets her apart from most other politicians whose affluent lifestyles are a constant reminder to ordinary people of the hypocrisy prevalent among Iran’s political leaders. With her immaculate hijab—colorful scarves but no full-length black chador—she appeals to the pious, yet sends a message of defiance as chador is the preferred form of hijab in the government. Mansuri opposes compulsory hijab and attributes the growing civil resistance against the establishment to government pressure on women as the underlying catalyst. She has a history of arrests and prison sentences for her activism, especially during the 2009 unrest, but has not been cowed into silence over the establishment’s unjust treatment of protesters, women, students, and laborers. To all the above add her progressive attitudes towards religion—specifically in terms of owning pets, which hardliners consider ritually unclean and evidence of a decadent Western lifestyle—and she might be that last beacon of hope for those who do not want a revolution and still see change possible within the system. Oddly, Mansuri comes from a faction that has little hope in people’s participation, but hardline outlets claim, and some reformist politicians implicitly confirm, that her gender had something to do with her appointment, especially after the 2022 protests that were widely known for their slogan: Woman, Life, Freedom. Mansuri’s appointment naturally triggered a smear campaign against her by hardliners, but even some of her comrades in the reformist camp could not contain their discontent with her new leadership role. Mohammad-Ali Vakili, former MP and managing director of reformist newspaper Ebtekar, is among those disgruntled reformists who believe more qualified candidates could have been considered for the post and frets that the camp as a whole is shifting towards more radical activism against the establishment. He attributes this partly to apathy and the loss of hope in politics in the camp, which results from the distance between reformism and the establishment as well as the fissures within the camp, including with supporters across the country—not to mention the overall sense of indifference to politics. Hardline outlets also feature Mansuri as a “radical” figure and the “queen of election boycotts” who should be seen as an “outsider” and countered through exposition jihad with a focus on “security” threats. After the execution of a protester in December 2022, Mansuri refused to participate in further meetings with Ali Shamkhani, then secretary of the Supreme National Security Council who was trying to engage in dialogue with representatives of various political factions to find a way out of the crisis. In her statement, Mansuri strongly opposed the harsh treatment of protesters, asserting she would not pay the price of attending such meaningless and “decorative” meetings. Along with her other bold statements and criticisms of the establishment, such a stance marked her as a “radical” figure in the eyes of the hardliners and moderate reformists. Nonetheless, it seems reformist outlets have come to her defense, highlighting the importance of “unity” and “democracy” among the reformists, and suggesting that they would never boycott the election.
No matter the reformists’ ultimate decision regarding participation in the election, the appointment of Mansuri seems to send a new message about the camp’s approach to politics, creating unease among the principlists and perhaps the Nezam itself.
