Female Village Chiefs Increasing

The number of female village chiefs in the country has increased 10-fold since they were first elected 20 years ago.

“There were only 150 female village chiefs in the first election in 1996, which increased to 400 in the second, 888 in the third, and 1,544 in the last election,” said Fahimeh Farahmandpour, advisor to the interior minister in women and family affairs, ISNA reported. There are more than 64,000 villages in the country, half of which remain deserted due to multiple reasons. The official said although the number of women village heads is insignificant compared with the number of villages in the country, the increasing trend is promising, since villages are the most traditional communities in the country.

The village chief is the main executive officer of the village and elected for a four year term.

At present, there are 45 women in senior management positions in the country, four are mayors, and five are university chancellors.