Woman MP barred from Parliament on morals charge in Iran

A judicial body in Tehran ruled that a woman politician cannot assume her post after photos appeared allegedly showing her with uncovered head and shaking a man's hand, both unacceptable behavior for women in the Islamic Republic.

Newly-elected Minoo Khaleghi, one of the women who won seats in the Parliament in recent elections, is accused of having removed her scarf in public while in Europe and China on holiday.

Khaleghi denied the claims and said she had done nothing that would bar her from taking office. She also said the images circulated online were fakes. The Iranian Interior Ministry ordered an inquiry into the scandal.

Iran's Guardian Council, a body of Islamic clerics, has annulled Khalegis' votes to block her from being sworn into office. At a Wednesday hearing, t he Dispute Settlement Committee of Branches confirmed the decision and said evidence against her determined that the MP could not take office.

A man identified as Khamid Talebi has been apprehended on suspicion of publishing the pictures.

According to the New York Times, the disqualified MP said: “I am a Muslim woman, adhering to the principles of Islam," and added that those who published the images were motivated by political greed.

Khaleghi ran for the reformist List of Hope coalition, winning the third-largest share of votes in Isfahan. She had been approved to stand as a candidate in Isfahan in elections on February 27. She received 193,399 votes and was elected to Parliament together with 17 female candidates, who won seats in Iran's first polls since a historic deal with the West over the country's nuclear program.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani showed his support forKhaleghi's election victory. On Twitter, he praised the female MPs for taking a record 18 seats, the most since the Islamic Revolution.