Author Talk: Mona Tajali’s ‘Women’s Political Representation in Iran and Turkey: Demanding a Seat at the Table’

Women’s history month comes at a fraught time in Iran and Turkey, two pivotal nations straddling the Middle East and Asia. 

In Iran, the death of a young woman in police custody has thrown the oppression of women into stark relief, sparking widespread protests led by women over the forced wearing of headscarves that have pressured the hardline regime. 

In Turkey, meanwhile, women have been asked to carry much of the trauma from an earthquake that has killed nearly 50,000 people in the southeastern part of the country.

These acute issues comes on top of the chronic lack of representation in both countries. Women in Turkey occupy just 17 percent of available parliamentary seats. In Iran, it’s just 3 percent. 

The event. To explore and compare the factors limiting female participation in politics in both countries, join Global Atlanta for the season kickoff of Authors Amplified, a series of virtual book talks in partnership with the Atlanta Global Studies Center spotlighting Georgia voices on international issues. 

We’ll be chatting with Agnes Scott College Professor Dr. Mona Tajali, author of Women’s Political Representation in Iran and Turkey: Demanding a Seat at the Table, in a podcast-style interview that will be broadcast live from Constellations in downtown Atlanta. 

About the book (text from the publisher):

How have women in many Muslim-majority countries been able to achieve surprising success despite the significant constraints imposed by conservative gender ideology and authoritarian political parties and systems? Through a comparative focus on Iran and Turkey, Mona Tajili examines the activities and strategies of women’s rights groups across the ideological spectrum. She explores how various groups have negotiated with political elites in order to bolster female political representation and identifies the conditions that stimulate greater support to ease women’s path to political office. Studying how women’s groups manoeuvre within these structures is important to help our understanding of the gendered politics of autocratic regimes.

About the author: 

Mona Tajali is associate professor of international relations and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia. She has authored (with Homa Hoodfar) Electoral Politics: Making Quotas Work for Women (WLUML 2011), and several scholarly articles on gender and politics in the Middle East. Since 2007 she has been collaborating with the research wing of Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) transnational solidarity network and since 2019 serves as a member of its executive board.

About the series and sponsor: 

Georgia’s deep pool of international expertise is sometimes hidden in the ivory towers of academia or overshadowed by looming national figures. Sought-after thought leaders sometimes shine globally while being ignored in their own backyard.

With Authors Amplified, a series of book talks open to subscribers and the public, Global Atlanta showcases authoritative local voices in foreign affairs and international business while highlighting the state’s intellectual contributions to important global conversations.

The Authors Amplified series is presented by the Atlanta Global Studies Center (AGSC), a partnership of Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University, funded in part by a US Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center grant, with a mission to empower the metro region’s global agenda.