Nina Siahkali Moradi: Woman Councillor Disqualified for Being 'Too Attractive' in Iran

Nina Siahkali Moradi, an Iranian woman who won the city elections of Qazvin, has been disqualified on the grounds that she was "too beautiful" for the post.

Moradi, a 27-year-old graduate student of architecture, had received 10,000 votes in the city election in June placing her 14th out of the 163 candidates granting her a stand-by seat in the city council.

Despite that, election officials disqualified her on the grounds that Moradi was "not observing Islamic codes."

"We don't want a catwalk model on the council," The Times quoted a senior official in Qazvin as saying.

Moradi with the help of her friends had organised a high-profile election campaign in the city. But she was barred from the office for being too pretty.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran on their Facebook page said, "According to reports, the reason for her disqualification has been stated as "non-observance of Islamic codes." It is said that her election campaign posters are the basis for her disqualification. Nina Moradi is a graduate student of architecture."

The election campaign posters of Moradi showed her in a hijab without even a single hair being on display. But for Qazvin's religious groups the posters were considered too racy.

A coalition of religious groups in a letter to the governor condemned Moradi's election poster as "vulgar and anti-religious."

"Her votes have been nullified due to her disqualification, as the review board did not approve her credentials. We have told her the reason why she has been disqualified," Seyed Reza Hossaini, Qazvin's representative in the Iranian parliament, told IranWire.

When Moradi was asked about her disqualification, she said she was not aware of the decision.

"Almost 10,000 people voted for me and based on that I should be the first alternate member of the City Council," Moradi told local media.