Iran’s New President and a History of Oppressive Polices Towards Women
Defense Opinion, September 5, 2024, by Azadeh Sami and Niloufar Ehsani
Despite being portrayed as a reformist by some in the West, Tehran’s new president, Massoud Pezeshkian, is far from a champion of peace, stability, progress or equality. His career has been marked by a staunch commitment to the regime’s oppressive policies, particularly those targeting women and girls. It is an attitude that is poised to intensify under his leadership.
A long history with the regime
During the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988, Pezeshkian served as a combatant with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the security force that defends the country’s Islamic establishment, holding both combat and medical positions. His time with the IRGC solidified his loyalty to the regime’s most oppressive elements, a loyalty that would define his career.
In the 1990s, Pezeshkian aligned himself with then-President Mohammad Khatami and rose to the position of minister of health. During the student protests in 1999, he sided with the regime as they arrested and killed students across various campuses. While some of his colleagues resigned, he opted for silence and supported Khatami’s choice of suppression over dialogue with students.
From 1978 to the early 1980s, he pioneered a campaign that forced the compulsory veiling of women, starting with female medical students. This was not about religious devotion, but rather it was about control, aiming to constrain women who sought to contribute to society as physicians. As physicians, we can attest to the severe impact of such policies on Iranian women and girls.
A track record of repression of women
Pezeshkian’s alignment with the regime’s oppressive stance regarding women has continued unabated. In 2003, following the arrest, torture, rape and murder in custody of Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, Pezeshkian defended the atrocity by citing the cause of death as intracranial hemorrhaging with no visible signs of injury. This blatant denial of the truth and his complicity in covering up such a crime underscored his commitment to protecting the regime at all costs, even in the face of international outrage.
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