Nina Siahkali Moradi is a 27 years old Councilor Elect from Qazvin Iran, disqualified for being too sexy and attractive. She was denied her right to sit among the other elected representatives because she was deemed “too sexy” by the conservative election review board.
Nina Siahkali Moradi was considered too attractive for the post of Councilor
She was named as an “alternate member of the Council†– in effect, the first reserve. But when one of those ranked above her was selected as mayor and gave up his seat, Ms Moradi was disqualified and prevented from filling the vacancy.
After news spread that Moradi had been elected, a coalition of conservative religious groups launched a crusade to have her removed. An election review board reportedly upheld the alliance’s complaint under Islamic law, and the female councilor was disqualified for failing to follow Islamic norms in her campaign, according to Al Arabiya.
Officials promptly nullified her votes and disqualified her, allegedly over her attractive physical appearance.
“We don’t want a catwalk model on the council,” one official was quoted as saying.
Legal Experts have raised voice in support of her. “It is illegal for the election review board to disqualify someone who had initially been qualified to run and then later won the election,” he told the news agency. “It seems that this is a pretext in order to create an obstacle in order for this individual to not be able to join
the Qazvin City Council”, says Mohammed Olaiyehfard, a lawyer and law expert in Qazvin Iran.
“Almost 10,000 people voted for me and based on that I should be the first alternate member of the City Council,†Nina Siahkali Moradi told local media.
Shadi, 22-year old student who lives in Qazvin, says “I voted for Nina because I hate the manipulation and monopoly of power. She is a young person, like me, who could have been the voice of our generation. Most people voted for her based on the fact that she was not affiliated with any specific political faction and has been active in various fields of arts and sports”.
Amir, 28-year-old businessman who lives in Qazvin says, “Many people were shocked after they heard this news because there was nothing unusual in her campaign. If they wanted to be strict, other candidates have been more unusual and unsuitable, such as riding around the city on a horse, starting carnivals, hosting dinners, and making exaggerated promises. Some people believe they allowed her to run to encourage young people to vote, fooling them into thinking they can vote for a young, independent woman. But when they saw the results, they disqualified her, so now there are no independent members in the city council. None of the male members are independent”