In the third presidential debate held this Friday in Iran, candidates mainly discussed social and cultural issues.
The third round of presidential debates in Iran was held this Friday and the six candidates shared their views mostly on cultural and social challenges in the Islamic Republic.
Masoud Pezeshkian:
Speaking of the issue of culture, Pezeshkian stressed that culture is a pivotal issue and the government should never come to manage it. Rather, it is what seminaries, mosques, schools, and universities should deal with and develop.
Emphasizing the urgent need to address the issue of brain drain in Iran, Pezeshkian said that intellectuals should not leave our country. “We should prepare the ground so that they do not have to leave,” Pezeshkian noted.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf:
“Culture, in fact, means that people produce and consume themselves. Governments should navigate, produce, and guide culture,” Qalibaf said of culture, adding that in his opinion, “family is the most important entity that governments must focus on to develop and flourish culture.”
“Having a strong Iran depends on having strong families,” Qalibaf also said.
Mostafa Pourmohammadi:
Pourmohammadi started his speech by stressing that Iran needs to establish a strong messaging platform. A number of social media applications such as Whats App and Instagram are blocked in Iran and Iranians need to use VPNs to get access to them.
Pourmohammadi then brought up the issue of women and said that Iranian women “have made significant progress in the Islamic Republic, but they still have not reached their true position.” He further noted that Iran is a capable country with high scientific potential, and all Iranians, including women, can move the country towards progress and development.
Alireza Zakani:
Also speaking of women’s role in Iran’s society, Zakani, the current mayor of Tehran, said that women’s issues cannot be addressed only with slogans. “Women inside and outside their homes need security,” Zakani said.
Asserting that Islam has provided women and girls with a position where they have opportunities, not issues, Zakani also noted that “freedom is the right of the people, and the Islamic Revolution has granted this right to all, including women.”
Ghazizadeh Hashemi:
Ghazizadeh Hashemi also emphasized on the issue of women in Iran and said that the next government is obliged to employ women with children and provide facilities such as affordable childcare centers to make life easier for Iranian mothers.
Pointing out the important and undeniable status of women in Iranian and Islamic culture, Ghazizadeh Hashemi also said that “in our country, women have never been viewed as objects.”
Saeed Jalili:
Jalili too took on the issue of women and said measures should be taken to not let the glorious role of Iranian women in various fields be censored or downgraded. Rebuking what he called “the conspiracy of Iran’s enemies against Iranian women,” Jalili said Iran’s enemies have focused on women because “women are the strength point of the Islamic Revolution.”
Jalili also lashed out at the Western states for their double standards regarding the rights of women and their silence in the face of the death of hundreds of thousands of women in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military.
