With regard to cases, has the judicial system changed at all since President Ahmadinejads election?
No, the judicial system has not changed. It’s still very much a system with problems, however. What about the state of women? Has it changed at all? People sitting in the West tend to think that Iranian women are suffering en masse, what do you make of that perception? We’ve been able to change a few laws since the Revolution to the benefit of women. If you compare the state of women today to 26 years ago, just as the Revolution was starting, it’s gotten better. Child custody laws, for example, have improved. The age of marriage has been changed from 9 to 13 — still very young, but a lot better than before. Women in the beginning of the Revolution could not be judges — for example, I lost my own job — but now they may serve as judges again. However, Iranian women do still have many problems, and do need more freedoms. We have a long way to go. Why did you become a judge? I went to law school, I was very concerned with justice, and this seemed the best way to work in that vein. What
