She continued: “Women’s role and activity have always been forward and has stability, but the role of the government and its actions do not fit the reality of the situation of Iranian women; they are far behind. The process in the 35 years after the Iranian revolution in women’s field has been disproportionate to the activities of women. I don’t see much difference among the political parties. Hardliners and reformers or right-wings and left-wings and various ruling political groups all have a fanatic idea and of course a patriarchal culture.”

Faezeh Rafsanjani is the daughter of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the second most powerful figure in the Iranian regime. She was a Member of Parliament and managing editor of a newspaper. She also said in her interview: “The situation of women in Iran is even worse than in the Shah’s era. Politically, not only hasn’t there been any progress, but we have also moved backwards. Women’s share in the parliament is less than 5 percent. Regarding women, the government of Rouhani did not have a good start and I feel a kind of misogyny in this government.”