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Almost everything I know about the status of women in Iran I learned from one of four sources: 1) my friend's friend Roxanna, who was born in Iran and went back every summer to visit her family; 2) "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi; 3) the "Persepolis" graphic novels by Marjane Satrapi; and 4) articles in mainstream American newspapers.
It fascinated me that most of what I learned from the first three sources tended to be a bit different from the fourth. Roxanna, Nafisi, and Satrapi represented a long history of strong, intelligent women from the middle- and upper-class who, until the 1979 Revolution, had as much freedom as women in the US. (Which is a fair comparison because as we know, women from middle- and upper-class families in the US have much more freedom than women who struggle to overcome poverty. And just like in Iran, the available roles for women vary geographically.) As the recent election in Iran unfolded, my heart soared at all the headlines about the role women were playing, and the demand for more rights.
On June 19th, CNN ran a story about a demonstration staged by women for more rights:
"Women have become primary agents of change in Iran," said Nayereh Tohidi, chairwoman of the Gender and Women's Studies Department at California State University, Northridge.
The remarkable images show women with uncovered heads who are unafraid to speak their minds and crowds that are not segregated -- both the opposite of the norm in Iran, Tohidi said.
... Some women in Iran looked to Moussavi to carry their banner, perhaps because they were inspired by his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, a much-admired academic who told CNN's Amanpour that Iran's 34 million women want civil laws and family laws revised.
Author and journalist Azadeh Moaveni, who spent several years working in Iran, said Ahmadinejad's fundamentalism has pushed Iranian women to the edge.
"He has been a catastrophe for women," said Moaveni, who wrote "Lipstick Jihad" and co-authored "Iran Awakening" with Nobel laureate Ebadi.
The weight of discrimination against women is felt most profoundly through Iran's legal system, but Moaveni said Ahmadinejad added to the hardship by clamping down on women's lifestyles. He mandated the way women dress and even censored Web sites that dealt with women's health, Moaveni said. A woman would be hard-pressed to conduct a Google search for something as simple as breast cancer.
Subsequently, one of those brave women who went out was killed while watching demonstrations. Gwen and Tonni at Girl with Pen explains:
On June 20th a young woman and her father took to the streets demanding to be heard, not knowing that hers would echo across the globe. When they named their daughter, her parents probably could not fathom how well her name suited her; Neda in Farsi means the voice or the call. Neda and thousands of women are taking to the streets and demanding equal rights... Feminist politics are not new to Iran... although the Iranian women’s movement has a robust and long history, “at no time has the political influence of women and women’s issues been so profoundly visible as at present.” Prior to the election and women’s visible presence in the post-election demonstrations, women’s organizations came together to demand change from presidential candidates.
Babak Rahimi explained the symbolic meaning of Neda's death on Room for Debate:
“She [Neda] is now me; she is us; all of the Iranian women who have been living this death-like existence in this country,” an older woman describes. In many ways, she argues, we [Iranian women] are all martyrs like her, in spite the fact that we continue to live our ordinary lives under this system.
Neda has rapidly become the rallying cry for many anti-government protesters, who battle the Basij forces in the streets of Tehran and other major cities. According to Shia Islamic tradition, the 40th day after the death of a loved one marks a significant day of grief, and yet a moment to reflect on the inevitability of death.
However, it is important to remember as we support the push for women's rights in Iran not to exploit Neda's death. Fatemah at Muslimah Media Watch wrote:
Several news outlets have reported on her death, and several opinion-makers have heralded her tragic end as a martyrdom for Iran’s opposition movement. In Iran, this may be true: Neda’s death may garner more support and energy for the opposition movement that has been somewhat floundering for the last few days.
