Among Iranian president candidates, Mohammad Reza Aref stands out as the lone reformist and the one contender who regularly appears at campaign events accompanied by his wife, Hamideh Moravvej. She has attracted Iranian media attention for standing "un-Islamically" close to her husband, waving at supporters like the wife of a Western politician and wearing shiny, silver-colored clothing that some in North Tehran have dubbed “disco ball,” for the 1970s dance floor ornament.

Moravvej also wears sneakers, and her manteau — the religiously required tunic or cloak for women in Iran — is a tad clingier and shorter than recommended. Moreover, she does not wear a chador, the black, all-enveloping tent-like robe favored by traditional religious women and the wives of more conservative candidates. 

Other candidates’ wives have also appeared with their husbands but have done so far less frequently. In taking such a prominent role, Aref’s wife appears to be channeling Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of 2009 presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. A sculptor, former dean of the all-girls al-Zahra University in Tehran and well-known figure from the 1979 revolution, Rahnavard campaigned actively with Mousavi and was given credit for attracting the support of thousands of young women for him. She also paid the same price as he did of being put under house arrest following the government crackdown on the Green Movement. Moravvej, like Rahnavard, is a professional woman; in Moravvej’s case, a dermatologist. 

All the candidates post pictures of women at their rallies, so obviously they care about attracting the female vote. The way their supporters are dressed, however, signals major differences in social and cultural attitudes. At rallies for Aref and the pragmatist Hassan Rouhani, the women wear colorful scarves that show a good bit of hair. When the conservative candidate Saeed Jalili appears, the women in the audience are in full chadors. In most cases, the women’s faces are barely visible. Women who choose to or are forced to cover themselves excessively are called “one-eyed,” since only one of their eyes is visible under the veil.