Facing heightened criticism, Iran’s moderate President Hassan Rouhani has appointed two women as vice presidents and one woman as his aide in an apparent attempt to appease Reformists who had demanded female ministers.

On Aug. 9, Rouhani named Masoumeh Ebtekar as vice president for women’s and family affairs. Prior to this, Ebtekar served as head of the Environmental Protection Organization during the first term of Rouhani’s presidency. The president also appointed Shahindokht Mowlaverdi — who was previously vice president for women’s and family affairs — as his aide on citizenship rights’ affairs. Mowlaverdi enjoys popularity among women for her efforts regarding women’s rights. Reports from the past week had indicated that Mowlaverdi was being considered for the position of minister of education.

The third appointment caught the attention of both media and social networking activists. Laaya Joneidi was chosen by the president to serve as vice president for legal affairs. Joneidi finished her post-doctorate in law at Harvard University in 2003; prior to this, she studied law at the University of Tehran, which is counted as among the best in Iran. Besides her native Persian, Joneidi is reportedly fluent in Arabic, English and French.

By not picking any woman as a minister, Rouhani has drawn ire from Reformists and women’s rights activists. Parvane Salahshouri, the chairwoman of the "Women" faction in parliament, said Aug. 9, “Shockingly and surprisingly, half of Iranian society was ignored by the president. [Compared to] the countries in the world, educated Iranian women have little presence at the high level of political management, while they have been very active at other levels of the political and social [arena].”