Zahra Rahnavard, wife of Iranian candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi, has taken a visible role in the campaign.There's no doubt that Iran's election will be a major test for incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But many Iranian women hope the results will also shake the current status of women in the Islamic republic.
"Thirty-four million women demand to have female Cabinet ministers; 34 million women demand to be eligible to run for president," Zahra Rahnavard, wife of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
"Thirty-four million women want the civil law to be revised; 34 million women want the family law revised."
Whether her husband wins or loses Friday, Rahnavard has broken barriers for women just by appearing on the campaign trail with her husband, a rarity for political wives in Iran.
"We look at her, and we say, 'We want to be like her in the future,' " said Shakiba Shakerhosseie, an Iranian woman who packed into Tehran's indoor Azadi (Freedom) sports stadium along with nearly 12,000 others to hear Rahnavard speak in March.
Rahnavard is a mother of three, as well as an accomplished artist and academic. She has been compared to first ladies in the United States, including Michelle Obama, for her visible role in her husband's quest for the presidency.
"I am here to say that men and women are equal," Rahnavard said.
"Thirty-four million women want the civil law to be revised; 34 million women want the family law revised."
Whether her husband wins or loses Friday, Rahnavard has broken barriers for women just by appearing on the campaign trail with her husband, a rarity for political wives in Iran.
"We look at her, and we say, 'We want to be like her in the future,' " said Shakiba Shakerhosseie, an Iranian woman who packed into Tehran's indoor Azadi (Freedom) sports stadium along with nearly 12,000 others to hear Rahnavard speak in March.
Rahnavard is a mother of three, as well as an accomplished artist and academic. She has been compared to first ladies in the United States, including Michelle Obama, for her visible role in her husband's quest for the presidency.
"I am here to say that men and women are equal," Rahnavard said.
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