Iran Sticks to Ban on a Female President

Iran’s hard-line leadership ruled out allowing women to run for president in June elections, denying reports in the state-run media Saturday that it had decided to allow female candidates for the first time.

It was not clear whether the denial meant the hard-line Guardian Council was reversing itself or whether the earlier announcement was a mistake.

Throughout the day, state-run radio and television carried reports quoting council spokesman Gholamhossein Elham as saying the body had changed its long-standing policy and would allow women to run.

But in the evening, the media reported that Elham had denied the new stance.

“The Guardian Council’s previous opinion has not changed,” he was quoted as saying.

An official from the television’s political department defended the state-run media outlets, saying they had reported Elham’s initial comments correctly and it was the spokesman who had backtracked.

“It was Elham who changed his story. In both cases we were correct and did our job correctly,” the official said on condition of anonymity. Elham could not be reached for comment.

Saeed Shariati, leader of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the country’s largest pro-reform movement, said Elham appeared to have been taking back his word “under political pressure” from conservative Shiite Muslim clerics with influence over the government.

The June 17 election is a major opportunity for hard-liners to take back the presidency, since reformist incumbent Mohammad Khatami is barred from running for a third consecutive term in the post. Brought into office in 1997 on a wave of popularity, Khatami has lost much support as he has been unable to bring about major reforms.

The question of whether women can run for president hinges on a long-debated question over phrasing in the constitution, which says the president must be elected from among political rijal. That Arabic word means literally “men” but can be interpreted simply as political personalities regardless of their gender. Many Arabic words have been incorporated into Persian.

For 25 years, the Guardian Council has rejected female presidential candidates on the basis of that interpretation. But women are allowed to vote and run for parliament.