must be what the constitution refers to as Rajol-E- Siasi (“political men”).7 Though many argue that the phrase as a whole could be understood as “political persons,” without a specification as to gender, the Guardian Council of the Constitution, a body of Islamic jurists responsible for vetting candidates for elections, has never approved a woman to stand in presidential elections or elections to the Assembly of Experts. Additionally, no woman has ever served on the Guardian Council (body mandated to bring parliamentary resolutions in line with Shari’a and the Constitution and to oversee elections and vet candidates), nor on the Expediency Council (body which serves as the Supreme Leader's advisory arm, formulating "general policies for the state" and overseeing the implementation of those policies on the behalf of the Supreme Leader). There are no legal limits laws on the ability of women to vote or become a candidate for parliament or the City and Village Councils; however, the Guardian Council is known to arbitrarily disqualify women candidates from running for election. For example, in the run-up to the 2020 elections, the Guardian Council disqualified 60 percent of female candidates. Election law designates the Guardian Council as the arbitrator of complaints related to the election process or candidate vetting, which itself is the body responsible for the impugned decisions. There are currently no female ministers in the government’s cabinet. No provincial governors are women. The government recently appointed three women as “county governor” out of 430 positions across the country.8 The administration appointed women to 13 out of 1,058 district governors, mostly in small provinces across the country. Women currently occupy only 5.8 percent (16 out of 290) of parliamentary seats in the new parliament elected in February 2020.9 Additionally, under Iranian law, women cannot be appointed as judges. This rule is based on an interpretation of Shari’a according to which judging is done only by men, and women cannot issue rulings.10 While women can hold the position of ‘legal advisors,’ a role which allows them to oversee case proceedings or sit on three-person Appeals Court panels, they cannot render final verdicts, which must be signed by a judge.11 The government may assign a woman an honorary rank of judge, but in effect these continue to be positions such as "clerk", " and "legal advisor". No woman is a judge in the Iranian courts, regardless of title. According to statements issued by Alireza Amini, Deputy of Human Resources of the Judiciary, there are about 1,000 women ‘judges’ in the Iranian judiciary, who hold positions in family courts, appeals courts and the 7 Art 115, Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Executive rankings at the provincial level: 1) Governor, 2) County Governor, 3) District Governor, 4) Village President. 9 See more: All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan – Geneva (KMMK-G) Association for the Human Rights Of The Azerbaijani People In Iran (AHRAZ), Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC), OutRight International, Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Small Media, Impact Iran, Submission to the Human Rights Committee, 129th session, 2020, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_42317_E.pdf 10 The law of conditions for the election of judges of the judiciary: https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/90547 11 The law of conditions for the election of judges of the judiciary: https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/90547 8 3