دلایل ناپایداری و تک‌دوره‌ای بودن حضور زنان در شوراهای شهر ایران: مورد مطالعه استان تهران

Introduction

Local parliaments, particularly city councils, constitute fundamental institutions within the country’s political and administrative framework and represent the manifestation of citizens’ sovereignty over their own urban destiny. Institutions that emerge from the social fabric can achieve genuine effectiveness only when they are capable of mobilizing the full spectrum of societal capacities without relying on gender reductionist perspectives or limiting assumptions about women’s political and managerial capabilities.

According to available statistics, women hold approximately 4 percent of the seats in the Islamic Consultative Assembly and about 1 percent of the seats in Iran’s city and village councils (Mousanejad, 2023: 163). These figures indicate that women’s political participation in Iran’s formal decision making structures remains limited and falls short of the standards associated with inclusive governance. Beyond this quantitative imbalance, more detailed empirical investigations reveal that the quality, continuity, and durability of women’s presence in city councils face a serious challenge commonly described as political instability and one-term representation. An analysis of the results of six consecutive rounds of city council elections across sixteen county centers of Tehran Province, including Tehran, Eslamshahr, Shahr e Rey, Tajrish, Shahriar, Malard, Pakdasht, Damavand, Robat Karim, Varamin, Pishva, Firuzkuh, Golestan, Qods City, Qarchak, and Pardis, shows that the average rate of one-term representation among women exceeds 92 percent, whereas the corresponding rate for men is below 73 percent. This disparity suggests that even the limited number of women who successfully enter these councils are far more likely than men to be excluded from the arena of urban governance after their first term. Such a pattern indicates that women’s presence in city councils is not only more limited in numerical terms but also more fragile in terms of sustainability and continuity.

The phenomenon of one-term representation in city councils also reveals less visible dynamics that prevent the experiences gained by women during their first term from being transformed into political authority and institutional influence in subsequent electoral cycles. Accordingly, the central issue addressed in this research is not merely the limited entry of women into local governance structures but rather the lack of continuity in their political presence. To address this gap, the present qualitative study seeks to identify and analyze the factors that lead women in Tehran Province city councils either to be marginalized by entrenched power structures at the end of their first term or to withdraw voluntarily from further political competition.

Methodology

This qualitative research is conducted using an inductive approach grounded in the interpretivist paradigm. Given the complex and multilayered nature of the instability surrounding women’s political presence in the city councils of Tehran Province, semi-structured interviews were employed. The study involved 34 participants who were selected through purposive and snowball sampling until theoretical saturation was achieved. Interviewees included university faculty members and researchers in political and social sciences, mayors and municipal deputies in cities and districts of Tehran Province, former women members of city councils in the province, and secretaries general or central council members of political parties. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis following the approach proposed by King, Horrocks and Brooks (2019). The analytical process consisted of three stages: descriptive coding, interpretive coding, and defining overarching themes. During the descriptive coding stage, categories were derived directly from participants’ statements, and the researcher primarily focused on describing the data without interpretive judgment. In the second stage, interpretive coding, through repeated and continuous comparison, the researcher moved beyond descriptive analysis to interpret the meanings embedded in the codes and to construct conceptual sub‑themes. In the final stage, defining overarching themes, these sub‑themes were synthesized and interpreted at a higher level of abstraction in order to generate the main themes.

Findings

The thematic analysis process resulted in the identification of 159 codes, which were organized into 27 sub-themes and ultimately consolidated into seven main themes that explain the causes of instability and one-term representation among women in the city councils of Tehran Province. The findings demonstrate that this instability is not merely the outcome of an electoral event but rather the product of a complex interaction between internal functional challenges and external structural pressures.

The first main theme concerns structural and institutional barriers, including the unequal distribution of power generating positions such as council presidencies and influential committee chairmanships, resistance from municipal bureaucratic structures, and the influence of informal male dominated power networks.

The second main theme relates to cultural barriers and gendered attitudes. These include the persistence of patriarchal norms, discriminatory and stringent evaluative standards, and reductionist stereotypes that cast doubt on women’s managerial and leadership capacities in the perceptions of local elites and voters.

The third main theme involves limited access to financial resources and power. During electoral campaigns, women frequently encounter financial blockades, informal boycotts, and insufficient cooperation from economic networks and urban contractors, circumstances that significantly increase the costs of political competition.

The fourth main theme concerns weaknesses in coalition building and political organization, including inadequate party support, difficulties in forming effective political alliances, and the gradual political isolation of women within decision making arenas.

The fifth main theme relates to communication deficiencies and inadequate media representation. This includes weak political branding, vulnerability to media attacks and the spread of misinformation, and a gap between women’s actual performance and public perceptions within their social constituencies.

The sixth main theme addresses individual constraints and socio biographical conditions, including limited prior experience in executive or political roles, tensions between family responsibilities and political duties, intense psychological pressures, and a tendency toward political modesty that reduces engagement in highly competitive power struggles.

Finally, the seventh main theme concerns challenges within the electoral system itself. These include the symbolic placement of women on electoral lists, the influence of informal local power networks, and unstable competitive structures that create significant uncertainty regarding women’s political survival in subsequent electoral cycles.

Conclusion

The interpretation of the findings indicates that the phenomenon of one-term representation among women in the city councils of Tehran Province cannot be attributed to individual weakness or lack of competence. Rather, it reflects a fragile structural cycle shaped by an interconnected chain of institutional, cultural, social, economic, and political barriers.

One of the most significant contributions of this study lies in shifting the analytical focus from barriers to women’s entry into politics toward the identification of hidden mechanisms of exclusion that operate after women have attained political office. Many women gradually lose their political and social capital after being elected, largely due to their exclusion from networks of resource allocation, their exposure to cultural double standards, and the exhaustion resulting from the simultaneous management of political responsibilities and family roles.

Therefore, moving from symbolic representation toward sustained and institutionalized participation requires multi level policy interventions. At the structural level, reforms in the mechanisms of power distribution, improved positioning of women on electoral lists, and greater transparency in campaign financing are essential. At the cultural and institutional levels, confronting gender stereotypes, strengthening women’s communication and media capacities, supporting strategic alliances, and establishing mentorship networks for intergenerational knowledge transfer are crucial. In addition, reducing the pressures associated with dual roles through supportive social and cultural mechanisms and reinforcing women’s professional identity within urban governance can help prevent their premature withdrawal from local political arenas.