Would it help if Iran had a female foreign minister?
Iranians flocked to the polls today to elect one of four men as their next president. Top advisors to one of the candidates, Mehdi Karroubi, a moderate, recently suggested that if he wins (which he likely won’t), he should appoint a female foreign minister. Why? So she would be able to shake hands with Secretary ...
Iranians flocked to the polls today to elect one of four men as their next president. Top advisors to one of the candidates, Mehdi Karroubi, a moderate, recently suggested that if he wins (which he likely won't), he should appoint a female foreign minister. Why? So she would be able to shake hands with Secretary Clinton, something that would be taboo for a man to do.
Iranians flocked to the polls today to elect one of four men as their next president. Top advisors to one of the candidates, Mehdi Karroubi, a moderate, recently suggested that if he wins (which he likely won’t), he should appoint a female foreign minister. Why? So she would be able to shake hands with Secretary Clinton, something that would be taboo for a man to do.
[Mehdi Karroubi] recently debated with his team the number of cabinet posts women should fill. Mr Karroubi’s top advisers lobbied for the Foreign Ministry, speculating that when relations with the US normalise, the new foreign minister could shake hands with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Not all Muslims, though, think it’s improper for people of the opposite sex to shake hands. Below, Secretary Clinton shakes hands with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, a Muslim, on Feb. 18.
Photo: ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images
More from Foreign Policy


A New Multilateralism
How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.


America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want
Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.


The Endless Frustration of Chinese Diplomacy
Beijing’s representatives are always scared they could be the next to vanish.


The End of America’s Middle East
The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.