At the tenth session of the Imam Ali Congress series, held on Tuesday, 21 Bahman, in Tehran, Iran, Dr. Mohaddeseh Akhavan Qods, a PhD in Governance, and Strategic Director for Women’s Affairs at the Khatam al-Awsiyā Institute, outlined the role of Muslim women in the process of civilization-building and modern Islamic governance.
Governance in Contemporary Discourse
Dr. Akhavan Qods invoked the concept of “architects of the future,” as articulated by Iran’s Supreme Leader, noting that social upbringing secures the cultural continuity of society. In this context, she said, civilization-building is one of the foundational pillars of the Third Model of the Muslim woman: a model that invites women from the periphery into the heart of the monumental process of civilization-building.
She went on to redefine the concept of governance, explaining that in modern discourse it extends beyond classical government and bureaucracy. According to her, governance now signifies the process of guiding and organizing public affairs through a network of formal and informal institutions and social actors. Within this framework, women are no longer merely recipients or implementers of policy; they become active agents in the arenas of justice, grassroots participation, and social responsibility.
From Administrative Participation to Governance Leadership
Dr. Akhavan Qods outlined five stages of effective civic engagement:
- Problem Definition – framing how an issue is narrated
- Policy Option Generation – presenting creative solutions
- Social Acceptance – persuading public opinion
- Implementation and Accompaniment – turning decisions into concrete action
- Evaluation and Adjustment
She emphasized that women’s presence in power structures, without an active supporting social network, results in merely administrative participation, not governance leadership.
Introducing the Third Model for Women
Highlighting the need to elevate women from “subjects of policy” to “partners in governance,” Dr. Akhavan Qods posed the central question: What model makes such participation possible? Her answer lies in the Third Model — a model that neither confines women to traditional, isolated roles nor adopts the individualistic, male-patterned roles typical of modern Western paradigms.
She contrasted the features of the competing models:
- First Model (Traditional Woman): Respected but not active; seen only as a service recipient by the state.
- Second Model (Modern Woman): Individualistic and compelled to adopt male styles of power, often at the expense of family or feminine identity.
In contrast, the Third Model possesses an independent identity logic. It rejects the false binary of family vs. politics and envisions a woman whose societal responsibility is meaningfully connected to her family role.
Redefining Power and Women’s Roles
According to Dr. Akhavan Qods, the most significant innovation of the Third Model is its redefinition of power. Here, power is not about institutional authority or hierarchical command, but about the ability to exert sustainable influence on society. This reconceptualization transforms power from a rigid, centralized structure into a soft, networked, and distributed force.
Under this model, a woman becomes a multi-layered agent:
- In the family: A social organizer
- In society: A network-builder and mediator
- At the institutional level: A participant in policymaking
- In discourse: A producer of meaning and narrative
A Solution to the Governance Crisis
In her closing remarks, Dr. Akhavan Qods described the Third Model as the ultimate solution to the social governance crisis. She explained that this model moves women from the field of use (as consumers of decisions) to the field of influence (as primary messengers and active agents). At this point, the old binary debates about women vs. men and women vs. politics are transcended, and women emerge as architects of the future and indispensable elements in constructing desirable Islamic governance.
Reporter: Zahra Malakooti-Pour
From: jahanbanou