Feminism in Iran - Essay Example

Feminism in Iran This sign in the window of an Iranian shop can be translated as, “No service to women with loose veil or without hijab , not even to our old customers.” In 1983 Mullaney ( page 72) stated that ‘A successful revolution had to affect women’s daily life’ their daily social relation’. The Iranian revolution of 1979/80 certainly did have such an effect.. The topic of this essay is ‘Feminism in Iran’. Does such a thing exist? Is it possible given the present day political and religious situation there of which this shop sign is symbolic. Moghadam asked in 2000 ‘Can there be such a thing as a feminism that is framed in Islamic terms?’ In doing so she cites the scholars who would vehemently argue against any possibility that activists who are operating within the Iranian Islamic framework can be described with any accuracy as being “Islamic feminists’ She also asked ’Is Islamic feminism part of a broad reform movement in Iran, or is it an attempt to legitimize the state’s gender policy? Moghadam also question the rights of expatriate women to promote the idea of Islamic feminism. Feminism, sometimes referred to as gender politics, can be defined in most societies in two ways - as a theory which states that women and men are equal in their humanity and as such have equal rights - socially, politically and in religious terms; and also as being organised activity in the interests and women’s rights. The social , political and ideological movement described as feminism would claim to represent the interest’s of women, all women. However, Iranian or otherwise, not all women would agree with all that feminism assumes. Such a rejection in Islamic societies is often associated with the fact that it is seen as being part of western, middle class ideology and a very negative aspect of modernization. Modern day Iran is a strongly fundamentalist Islamic nation, at least as far as those who control it are concerned, with only 2% of the population being non-Islamic. Of the Muslims 89% are Sunnis and the rest are Shia. Despite all the elderly clerics who the media seem to concentrate upon Iran is a relatively young country with a median age of 28.6 years and only 5% of people living beyond retirement age.( World Fact Book, undated) Both sexes average the same length of schooling, but men out do women as far as literacy rates go – a difference of 13.1% in 2002. (World Fact Book) . The women have comparatively few children compared with many other countries – an average of 1.88 each. This is in part explained by an infant mortality rate running at almost 10 times that of the United Kingdom (World Fact Book), but also be the easy availability of contraception. What the figures do not show is how a society that was privately patriarchal has now become publicly patriarchal. Has women’s position really been changed as the post revolutionary state put in place a strongly patriarchal system of legislation – or is it just that the control over women has become more public – as the picture at the head of this piece seems to show? Less than 4 weeks after the downfall of the ruling family and the exit of the Shah, Khomeini was launching an attack on female Iranians. His timing was important - the eve of International Women’s Day - this was when he demanded a strict observance of Islamic dress codes.(Shahidian 2002, page 112) In June 2009 there were elections in Iran. The two main contenders were Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the pro- polygamy incumbant, and Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a more liberal thinker who had vowed to remove laws which were oppressing women . However he did not win the election . In the period immediately following the Second World War many Islamic nations embraced modern , Western inspired ideas. ( Haddad and Esposito 1998, page ix) .These ideas included such things as educational patterns, legislation and social codes. Mnay women stopped wearing the veil and became increasing involved in public activities, and to a certain extent barriers between the sexes were lowered to some extent. Iran until the 1970’s was considered a leading light in this process of modernisation in the Islamic lands. Linked to this however was the idea that this modernisation would lead to greater secularisation and so in many cases there was a reaction , a clamp down, especially on the rights of women. It must be pointed out that according to Najmabadi ( Chapter 4, 1994) that after the revolution ( 1979-1980) Iran was seemingly flung back rapidly into medievalism . Secular modernists were seen by religious leaders and more Islamically oriented Muslims as Westernizers whose reforms threatened religion and culture, family and society. (Haddad and Esposito 1998, page ix) Many writings on the topic of feminism in Iran point to the ensuing struggle even in their titles. ‘In the eye of the storm’ – Afkhami and Friedl, 1994, and ‘Female Warriors of Allah’, Reeves, M.1989 are just two examples. Najmabadi ( 1994, page 59) however was able to write "the past decade has also witnessed incredible flourishing of womens intellectual and cultural productions in Iran. ’ and goes on to describe how:- In practically every field of artistic creation, professional achievement, educational and industrial institutions, and even in sports activities. How does this fit in with female employment figures? Women make up 48% of the adult population and 31% of the work force according to figures given by Zadeh, 2001. How have these feminists managed to survive in modern day Iranian society, such as that which would put up the shop sign at the head of the page? On page 60 Najmabadi states that ‘New configurations of Islam, revolution, and feminisms am now emerging.’ They are rethinking ideas of gender in the post revolutionary period. Haddad and Esposito back this up ( page xix, 1998) when they state:- Women, not simply men, are claiming their right to interpret Islamic sources and to leave behind or go beyond classical formulations to develop new paradigms and to reformulate Islamic concepts and laws. They point out ( page 59) that many oppressive early laws from the immediate post revolutionary period are still on the statute books and are strongly enforced, despite the vigorous efforts of strong women both within and outside parliament. As the country went through the whole process of producing and claiming a renewed national identity , this was done in many instances at the expense of its female citizens. (Cronin, 2004, page 212). There were men who supported the rights of women .Cronin,( 2004, page 276) describes how some stated that the veil was not necessarily Islamic, but cultural, and that many of Khomeni’s ideas were not to be found in the Koran or other related Islamic writings. Such men were brought to trial accused of undermining the Islamic republic and the newspapers which supported such ideas were closed down. This included ‘Zan’ the only women’s newspaper, closed in 1999 – Mohammadi, 2003. In 2007 the same author speaks about women being who are “subject to some forms of discrimination, abuse, oppression, or exploitation.” This must include the freedom to choose how they dress as the shop sign shows. Costume is dictated by the present day norms of the wider Iranian society. Women are not the only ones whose rights have been suppressed according to Mohammadi ( 2007) who talks about the struggle for civil rights for all citizens, including the female ones. ( page 1 , 2007) He points out how important a part women have played , not just as feminists, but as civil rights campaigners, especially since 1996. Moghissi (1994) reported how determined the women were to escape what are described as the prisons of the roles defined for them by others . The writer concludes, ‘The Islamic regime has not opened the gates. Women are jumping over the fences.’ This is nothing new. Mohammadi ( 2007, page 2) describes a feminine fight for rights in a society that tended to consider them as ‘irrational, child-like and immature’, a fight which he claims is nothing new , but which has been continuing for over a century. This fighting includes the period of great upheaval during the many months of the revolution when women in huge numbers were to be seen on the streets , their demonstrations ultimately hastening the victory But they were not a separate , feminine or feminist grouping, they were just Iranians united in one cause. The imposition of Sharia law is not new either, but was in place long before the revolution. Under such laws women are not fully equal citizens. Citizenship only comes through the father. If a women is married to a non-Iranian her children cannot take Iranian citizenship. She is not allowed to travel without her husband’s permission ( Royanian 2003) Women can study law , but cannot become judges. Women are however allowed to vote, a right established well before the revolution in the 1960’s. So why haven’t they voted out those who oppress them? Or are the elections not always perfectly fair? Royanian describes rather women who in many cases support an Islamic government, but do not necessarily agree with the interpretations of it on the part of their rulers. He also describes two types of secular response- that of women who seek to work within the Sharia system, reinterpreting ancient texts and hoping and working towards a more liberal understanding of them: and also those who instead push boundaries in other ways – refusing to comply with dress codes perhaps and also other social norms which they put to the test. These women work within a strict legal code fitting alongside the country’s constitution that, within certain limits, seems to give them many rights as far as employment is concerned.:- Everyone is entitled to choose and select his or her desired employment, as long as it is not against Islamic principles, public interest and does not interfere with the rights of others. The government is duty bound to create jobs for all able bodied individuals equitably and according to the needs of the society. ( Iranian Constitution, ) The same laws ( Article 21) also speak of ‘creating a favourable environment for the growth of women’s personality. Such a law may be part of the reason that women students out number men in Iran’s universities and there are women publishers, even all-women publishing houses which produce ,books and pamphlets on women’s issues, especially from secular and even points of view from the far left. (Royanian 2003) According to Saberi, (2006) once such women learn what they are capable of they are even more likely to push for what they perceive as their rights. There is also a law which requires men to obtain their wife’s permission before taking another wife – a law which however does not extend to the practise of taking a ‘temporary wife’ i.e. a prostitute. Also the custody of children is firmly in masculine hands – if a man dies the children become the responsibility not of their mother, but of her former husband’s male relatives. Those same laws also say that a husband can refuse permission for a women to work if this is felt to be detrimental to the family. As regards representation , there are some women in the government, but these tend to be conservative rather than those with a feminist agenda. Rafat Bayat for instance was quoted by Saberi ( 2006) as stating that the Iranian government does not wish to limit the freedom of Iranian women . Change for the better is certainly still on the feminist agenda. Yet Harrison ( 2006) reported in 2006 that in the universities politically active students and faculty members are being expelled or at least threatened with expulsion, yet President Ahmadinejad is also quoted by Harrison as having said :- ‘The ears of the government are open to hear the student demands’ – and if that is true remember how many of them are women . The president dismissed a student protest as ‘freedom of speech’ something he didn’t have as a young student under Pavlavi rule. Conclusion The changes that overtook Iran following the ousting of the Shah in 1979 were dramatic. We are now more than 30 years on. Some of the women whose lives were turned upside down seemed to have embraced the revolutionary ideas. Others, including some who were born or grew up in the post revolutionary period, have retained their innate freedom as women to make their own way in life. I am reminded of the school boy who was repeatedly told to sit down. Eventually he complied, but in an aside to a friend was heard to say ‘I may be sitting down, but inside I’m standing up’ ( Source unknown). Many women may be sitting down under the strict Sharia laws, apparently outwardly conforming, but inside they standing and screaming about their own rights and those of others. Yet there are those who argue , as Moghadam stated ( 2000) that it is impossible for feminists to improve the status and situation of women within the Iranian Islamic Republic. As long ago as 1948 the United Nations declared:- We the peoples of the United Nations [are] determined... to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small. References AFKHAMI, M. and FRIEDL, E. 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