Minoo Khaleghi () is an Iranian jurist and

reformist Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...

activist. In the 2016 parliamentary elections, Khaleghi won a seat, however she was disqualified by the Guardian Council after the election.

Background

Khaleghi was born in 1985, in

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

. She comes from a well-known family, whose uncle – Nasser Khaleghi– served in the Cabinet of President Mohammad Khatami. A graduate of University of Isfahan and Allameh Tabataba'i University in Law, she is now a PhD Candidate at

Islamic Azad University The Islamic Azad University (IAU; , ''Dāneshgāh-e Āzād-e Eslāmi'') is a Private university, private university system Headquarters, headquartered in Tehran, Iran. It is one of the largest comprehensive systems of university, universities in ...

's Tehran Science and Research Branch. Her fields of expertize include

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

and communications law. She has been a journalist in local media and an activist in local non-governmental organizations with a focus on

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

and

environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...

. Khaleghi is also a member of "natural resources and climate change committee", Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines & Agriculture—Isfahan.

2016 election

Backed by the moderate–reformist List of Hope, she received the third-highest vote in

Isfahan County Isfahan County () is in Isfahan province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Isfahan. History After the 2006 National Census, the village of Qahjavarestan was elevated to the status of a city. After the 2011 census, the city of Khvorasgan ...

and was elected as a member of the parliament. In an interview with the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', she said her aim is "to fight for the rights of women who head families and increase the support they get from the law". The election results were as follows:

Disqualification

On 20 March 2016, the last day of the

Iranian calendar The Iranian calendars or Iranian chronologies (, ) are a succession of calendars created and used for over two millennia in Iran, also known as Persia. One of the longest chronological records in human history, the Iranian calendar has been modi ...

year, right before

Nowruz Nowruz (, , () , () , () , () , Kurdish language, Kurdish: () , () , () , () , , , , () , , ) is the Iranian or Persian New Year. Historically, it has been observed by Iranian peoples, but is now celebrated by many ...

, the Guardian Council ruled that Minoo Khaleghi couldn’t take her seat because her votes are “null and void”, and didn’t give a reason for ruling her out. In an open letter, Khaleghi said she had not met any council members in the days prior to or following the election, and she rejected “boundless rumors” which questioned her “dignity and character” as a Muslim. According to rumors quoted in multiple Iranian sources, she was disqualified because of an alleged photo of her without wearing

hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...

, or shaking hands with a non- mahram man. On 15 May 2016 Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, the prosecutor general of Tehran, said she has been summoned to the court to "explain about charges against her".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khaleghi, Minoo Living people Politicians from Isfahan 1985 births Iranian reformists University of Isfahan alumni Islamic Azad University alumni Iranian jurists 21st-century Iranian women politicians 21st-century Iranian politicians Iranian elected officials who did not take office

Background

2016 election

Disqualification

See also

References