Maneuvering Weak Institutions: Women’s Machineries in Iran

Feminist activists have long demanded state-level institutional structures that promote and protect women’s rights, in turn contributing to democratization and development. Like their counterparts in other regions, women’s rights activists in many Muslim countries have also organized for the creation of such formal structures, though their efforts have been impacted by the legacy of weak institutions that foster authoritarian rule and limited democratic governance. This paper outlines the challenging trajectory of feminist advocates in Iran as they campaigned and organized for formal national-level institutions (or machineries) in promotion of women’s rights in contexts with weak state institutions and strong patriarchal control, often justified through conservative religious interpretation. Inspired by international and transnational efforts on Gender Equality Machineries, particularly post 1995, this paper argues that women critical actors in Iran managed to position themselves as feminist insiders to pressure for the formation of national-level machineries on women’s rights. These institutions include cabinet-level bodies, such as the Vice Presidency of Women and Family Affairs (2013 to Present) and its predecessors, Center for Women and Family Affairs (2005 to 2013) and Center for Women’s Participation (1997-2005). Based on in-depth interviews with key women who helped form and later served in these institutions, this research highlights the various opportunities and obstacles that institutionalization of women’s rights faced throughout the past decades. It especially analyzes feminist actors’ strategic interactions with key male elites and maneuvering weak and limited commitments both on behalf of the state as well as the international community on women’s rights and gender equality. Using a feminist institutionalist lens, this research sheds light on the complexities of effectively institutionalizing women’s rights in undemocratic contexts, highlighting the various factors and actors involved at national, international, and transnational levels. This research ends with an analysis of the key demands of the feminist movements in Iran and across the region on future approaches towards institutionalization of women’s rights amidst extensive backlash and patriarchal control on women’s rights.