Woman Barred From Office in Iran For Being Too Beautiful

An Iranian woman has been told she cannot have a seat on her city’s council because she is too beautiful for the role.

Nina Siahkali Moradi finished 14th out of 163 candidates in the Qazvin city council elections, polling an impressive 10,000 votes.

But even though the result should have gained her a seat on the council, the 27-year-old candidate was disqualified with the council leader saying: ‘We don’t want catwalk models here.’

According to the Independent, Ms Moradi had gained enough votes to become an ‘alternative member of the council’ – making her a first reserve.

When one councillor gave up his seat, Ms Moradi should have been able to step in, but she was banned from doing so.

She found out a week after the election on June 14 that any votes cast for her had been nullified.

According to the International Campaign for human Rights in Iran, her disqualification was as a result of her ‘non-observance of Islamic codes’.

It has been suggested that her campaign posters prompted some of the council’s conservative elders to complain.

Opponents to her candidacy said that she had only been elected because because she is young and attractive.

But on the posters she is wearing the required hijab and has only her face showing.

She also passed a series of rigourous checks carried out prior to polling day carried out by a range of authorities including the police, intelligence ministry and the judiciary.

The graduate student had campaigned under the slogan ‘Young Ideas for a Young Future’.

The Qazvin election took place on the same day as the country’s presidential election.

Ironically, the newly elected President Hassan Rowhani has vowed to introduce new civil rights laws in the country, promising to drastically improve women’s rights.