Women After Iranian Revolution

1109 Words3 Pages

Danielle Hill
Haesook Chae
Politics of the Middle East
April 14th, 2017 Feminism in Iran After the Iranian Revolution Feminism is the fight of women receiving equal rights for all sexes. During the Iranian Revolution, women played a huge part in advocating for human rights in Iran under the regime of Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi. The revolution against dictatorship was fought by people of all walks of life including the urban poor, students, trade unions, intellectuals, leftists, Islamists, women, and many more. Most of these groups received freedoms but the situation of women worsened. After the revolution, laws were created to oppress women. Women continued their fight for equal rights after the revolution was over and to this day they …show more content…

Before Shah fled Iran, he removed the hijab. If women did not follow this demand, they faced an immense number of obstacles ranging from shame to education; blood was shed during demonstrations. The article, Iranian Women After the Islamic Revolution by Dr. Ansia Khaz Ali states, Reza Pahlavi, “carried out extensive propaganda campaigns, and women found themselves facing considerable obstacles in entering higher education institutes or certain social circles whilst wearing a hijab.” (Ali, 3). The religion of Islam played an indirect role in the way women were treated before the Iranian Revolution. Mehrdad Darvishpour points out that Islam has patriarchy views that have oppressed women by men. Darvishpour notes that Islam forces men to be superior over women and reveals a quote by Fatima Mernessi, an Arab feminism, that states, “In western culture, sexual inequality is based on the belief in the biological inferiority of woman. In Islam, it is the contrary: the whole system is based on the assumption that woman is a powerful and dangerous being.” (Darvishpour, 2). Darvishpour continues, “It is men’s responsibility and duty to keep women under their protection and control.” (Darvishpour, 3). The struggle women face is Iran comes from authoritarian leaders, strict laws, and Islam “patriarch” views, according to Darvishpour and …show more content…

Their commitments played a huge role in the ousting of Pahlavi and it pushed feminism in Iran. Iranian women have been victims of patriarchy since birth. The article, Iranian Women and the Civil Rights Movement in Iran: Feminism Interacted, by Majid Mohammadi states, “The Iranian women have traditionally been deprived of many of their basic rights and have suffered from both male centered ideologies and male dominance that treat women as irrational, child-like and immature, and from widespread discriminatory policies that effect their lives from birth to death,” (Mohammadi, 2). While women faced inequalities since childhood, they constantly fought throughout the Islamic Revolution of 1979, a revolution that did not include gender differences or expectations. Mohammadi states, “The Islamic Revolutionary utopia, shaped and presented in the 1970s, was not ideologically, strategically, and tactically gendered; gender issues were hidden under the guise of Islamic ideology that was the framework of the next regime and no one was talking about it beforehand.” (Mohammadi, 2). Women became more involved in the Revolution after Reza Pahlavi’s son began sexualizing women in Iran. He believed that westernizing women would improve the state of Iran. Shah Pahlavi wanted to remove the hijab to appear more western. Ali states, “On 7th January 1935 Reza Khan announced a ban on the hijab during the

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