It’s Not A Deal If You Don’t Shake Hands

A BBC article released today discusses the “unprecedented number of female diplomats”, who were key components in the nuclear deal agreement with Iran. The article praises these women, their hard work, and the central roles they played in the months of continued talks.

However, the article also mentions when at the end of the agreement, the male Iranian negotiators refused to shake hands with the female diplomats. Going against the standard of shaking hands upon the sealing of a deal, the Iranians avoided the women in accordance with their strict religious laws.

Wendy Sherman, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, responded to this behavior saying,

“…I think we all understood how to speak to each other without shaking hands and understanding each other to the extent that we got an agreement”.

While Sherman is evidently aware of the religious laws that forbid Muslim males from touching women who aren’t their wives or unmarriageable relatives, and does not seem to see anything wrong with such behavior, this instance only further highlights issues regarding the treatment of women in Islam and under Shariah law.

Sherman also mentioned that,

“When I sat across from the Iranians, I was the United States of America and perhaps as a woman I can say some things that don’t come across a tough, but when I do get tough and when I do lose it, it makes a big impression because it’s unexpected.”

Does this mean that female negotiators, politicians, and diplomats have to “get tough and lose it” to ever make any progress with Muslim male equivalents? Sherman is missing the point that, as a woman, she is not recognized as a legitimate counterpart to male Iranian religious leadership in any negotiation.  That gives us a clearer picture of what the Iranians think of the deal than the administration’s explanations thus far.

At the end of the day, it’s not a deal if you don’t shake hands.