Iran’s new cabinet: For men only

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani puts forward a new cabinet line-up that again includes no women, despite criticism of their absence from his reformist allies.

There are no major changes to Rouhani’s government, which is expected to continue his push for greater foreign investment and a technocratic approach to reviving the country’s stagnant economy.

Rouhani’s reformist allies have already criticized the president after news leaked that he would again fail to appoint any women to the cabinet — seen as a capitulation to religious leaders.

“The lack of women ministers shows we are treading water,” Shahindokht Mowlaverdi, Rouhani’s outgoing vice president for women’s affairs, tells the reformist Etemad daily.

During his first term, she was one of three women among his large cohort of vice presidents, who do not require parliamentary approval.

All 18 cabinet members must be approved by parliament over the coming week.

— AFP