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Houri Jahanshahrad and Seyed Javad Emamjomehzadeh
Department of Political Science, University of Isfahan, Iran
'Women's Political Participation and Political development (with an Emphasis on Islamic Societies)'
In view of the fact that women constitute half of the population and they are architects of family life, we should recognize their roles in societies. One of the important roles of women in different societies concerns with political participation and political development. Through political participation, individual rights and liberties in particular and democratic principles in general can be maintained and guarantied. Five points show the significance of women's political participation. They include (1) democracy can be achieved when women as half of the population participate in leadership and decision making of societies; (2) different policies and laws may be only acceptable and enforceable when all of the people including women, take part in making them; (3) concerning various interests and needs of the people, women that are much better familiar with their interests and needs, can better find out ways to properly meet them; (4) in some issues such as children, birth control and the like, women can better undertake initiatives and recognize preferences; (5) with regard to the fact that women possess capacities and suitable capabilities, political participation of women can really contribute to the better use of human resources. Given the said points, the facilities and necessary conditions such as high education, economic power, legal protection and social norms are very important to provide political participation of women in the societies. With the exclusion of half of the population the path of development will be imperfectly followed. In the Holy Quran there are some verses which refer to social, economic, political and religious participation of women. Also, there are some prominent women in the history of Islam who participated in political and even military affairs. In general, political participation of women is theoretically acceptable and we are expected to accomplish it practically. It needs an environment in which pressure, oppression and discrimination are excluded. And freedom, human rights, enhancement in knowledge, some reforms in structure of government and legal codes for women, are included. Islamic societies in this context should cooperate with each other to make relevant laws and try to implement them.
Bio: Houri Jahanshahrad has an MA in International Relations from Tehran University of Iran. Currently she is a Senior Expert in the Department of Political Science and International Relations (University of Isfahan). She has published four articles mainly on women's issues.
Dr. Seyed Javad Emamjomehzadeh has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Brussels (Belgium) and is currently a full-time assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Isfahan, Iran. Dr Seyed is also the Head of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Isfahan (Iran) and a member of the Editorial Board of Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics. Dr Seyed has produced ten published articles.
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