The head of the clerics block in the Majlis, Iran's Parliament, calls on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad not to insist on tapping more women for ministerial posts, Press TV reported.
Mohammad Taqi Rahbar's call comes after his fellow lawmakers rejected two out of three women proposed by the president as ministers, although their rejections were for reasons other than their gender.
Speaking at a press conference today, the representative from Isfahan stressed that he had no opposition to the character and the high value of women, but, "because a group of senior clerics were opposed to proposing women ministers, we believe that the government should not insist on this matter," Tabnak reported.
Rahbar is reported to believe that proposing another woman for a ministerial post could create tension in the Majlis, society, seminaries and among the clergy.
Under Iranian law, a minister proposed by the president must be approved by a majority of lawmakers before he or she can take up the task.