The Role of Female Representatives in Iranian Islamic Parliament (Third and Fourth Periods)

Iran’s Islamic parliament is the most important democratic institution of the country. Social and political groups try hard to get in the parliament due to its legislative powers and wide range jurisdiction. The third and fourth periods of the Islamic Parliament elections were held under different circumstances. After the death of Imam Khomeini and the end of the war, and beginning of the Sazandegi-government, we observed a change in the political situation in Iran. In the rivalry between the groups called followers of Imam and traditional groups, two main movements of Principle followers (right) and Reformists (left) were formed. They tried to obtain a major role in the parliament, and in this period the number of female candidates (and consequently female MPs) increased in comparison with the previous periods. The female representatives had played a major role in passing legislative bills regarding family and women’s right and encouraged more participation of women in social, cultural, economic and political spheres. This paper intends to approach this role from a descriptive perspective and study how the female representative within the framework of constitutional limits and Islamic teachings could develop the women’s position in the society.