Iran’s president has named two women as vice presidents after proposing a Cabinet that included no women among his ministerial picks.
Hassan Rouhani’s presidential website announced Wednesday that he appointed Masoumeh Ebtekar as vice president for women and family affairs and Laaya Joneidi as vice president for legal affairs.
Ebtekar was Rouhani’s vice president for the environment department during his first term, one of three women appointees. Another was Shahindokht Molaverdi, who Rouhani named Wednesday as assistant on citizenship rights.
Iranian presidents appoint a number of vice presidents.
On Tuesday, Rouhani proposed 17 men for 18 Cabinet positions to parliament for approval. The cleric had no woman ministers in his first term, despite being a moderate compared to others in Iran’s Islamic Republic and emphasizing women’s rights in his campaign.
