Iran's
parliament yesterday backed a cabinet proposed by President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad that includes the Islamic republic's first woman minister. The
assembly approved 18 of 21 nominees, propelling Ahmadinejad into his second
four-year term. The candidates who failed to secure the required majority
of votes were two other women nominees and Ahmadinejad's pick for energy
minister.
The first woman to join a cabinet in the Islamic republic will be Marzieh
Vahid Dastjerdi at the health ministry. A gynaecologist and former MP,
Dastjerdi, 50, was approved despite never having held an executive job in
government. Dastjerdi described her selection as an "important
step" for Iranian women. "I think today women reached their
long-standing dream of having a woman in the cabinet to pursue their
demands," she told the parliamentary news service. "This is an
important step for women and I hold my head high."
The other two women nominees, Sousan Keshvaraz and Fatemeh Ajorlou, fell
short of the required number of votes to take over the education and
welfare and social security portfolios. Oil ministry nominee Masoud
Mirkazemi, set to head the crucial portfolio of Opec's second largest
exporter, barely squeaked through after being harshly criticised by a
powerful MP. Yesterday's vote came after five days of heated debate saw
some key nominees strongly opposed but still eventually approved. The
confidence motion follows Ahmadinejad's re-election and subsequent protests
that divided the nation's ruling elite.
