Mrs. President: Women and Political Leadership in Iran (review)

One of the best documentaries on women and the current political affairs in Iran is Shahla Haeri's Mrs. President: Women and Political Leadership in Iran. As its title suggests, this work considers women's rights issues in Iran within the framework of constitutional rights and political representation. Haeri's study focuses on six candidates from among the forty-seven women who nominated themselves for the 2001 presidential election. These women were able to proceed with the nomination because the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in listing the qualifications for presidency, does not specify the gender of the suitable candidate; Article 115 of the constitution refers to the nominee by the nongender-specific term rejal-i siyasi (political elite). Women use this ambiguity as an opportunity to apply for the highest executive office of the nation. This observation is further complicated as the candidacy application of all the women is indiscriminately dismissed by the Guardian Council, which in accordance with Article 118 of the constitution is responsible for supervising the elections to the most crucial offices of the government: the president of the Republic, the Leadership Council of Experts, and the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

Against this background, the women who came forth as presidential candidates walk into the space between a constitutional misunderstanding and a predictable rejection by the Guardian Council. Haeri's documentary captures this contested stance as an opportunity to investigate laws pertaining to women's rights in Iran and to discuss social issues from the perspective of these involved but excluded nominees. The main promise of the documentary is to show who these women are and why they nominated themselves as presidential candidates. Their goals and ambitions are inseparable from how they evaluate and critique the political and economic conditions of Iran and how they engage in thought-provoking discussions on improving these conditions.

Mrs. President explores these questions through interviews with the six candidates, interviews with women's rights activists and journalists, and an overview of the presidential campaign and the public role that women play in it. The women candidates who are portrayed in Mrs. President are interviewed separately and individually. In each case, it is clear that the candidate had invited the camera and the crew into an environment that she had selected: the living room of her house, her office, or a local coffee shop. The candidates remain veiled at all times because of their religious convictions as well as the knowledge that their images would soon appear on public screens, in places far from their country. The camera is a guest, a witness to an enduring struggle involving these women and their compatriots. Camera movements portray the candidates in close-ups and medium shots, in an aura of admiration, looking up at them, with sympathy and understanding, maintaining a steady distance to encourage the dialogue.

Haeri is successful in demonstrating the distinction and individual identity of these women who project a wide segment of the society, from devout to liberal Muslims, from highly educated professionals to those with an average education, from single parents to widows. Their differences are captured in how each candidate projects herself by the way she is dressed (even though they all observe the Islamic dress code they do not look similar) and how she articulates her ideas and the subjects that she considers most important. The subtitles do not adequately capture the nuances at work here, the subtleties in their diction and choice of vocabulary.

Their differences notwithstanding, these candidates share a sincere commitment to initiating constructive change in the political and economic domains by creating new jobs, developing the industries, eliminating political corruption, improving the education system, and demanding women's rights. According to one of the candidates, "Everyone has reached a point that they do not care who is in charge anymore. What people want is improvement in their lives." This subject is addressed by all the candidates, who examine social issues in relation to Islam; some question the legitimacy of actions taken...