Women's rights activists pin hopes on Iran vote

At the same news conference, a female former MP who Karoubi says he would include in his cabinet questioned the way Iran enforces strict Islamic dress code, or "hijab," in comments unlikely to go down well within the Islamic establishment.

Enforcement of moral codes governing women's dress -- which require them to cover their hair and the shape of their bodies -- became more strict after Ahmadinejad swept to power in 2005 pledging to revive the Islamic revolution's values.

"The hijab should be persuasive and not compulsory in nature ... the hijab should be a personal matter," said Jamileh Kadivar, herself wearing a head-to-toe black chador.

Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard has also broken new ground in Iranian politics by actively campaigning for her husband, saying women would win greater influence if her husband was elected.

She has demanded an apology from Ahmadinejad, who questioned her academic qualifications in a televised debate with Mousavi, who is seen as the president's main challenger in the vote.

"Ahmadinejad's attacks on Mousavi's wife have gone down badly," said Ali Ansari of the University of St Andrews in Scotland. "It will be seen by many people as beneath the belt, and it shored up the women's vote."

(Additional reporting by Hashem Kalantari; Editing by Dominic Evans)