Produced by A nankemag.com
Editor Sabin M uzaffar
Author Zara A hmed
Illustr ations by Sara Shoghi
Instagram @sarahshoghi
https://sarashoghi.partial.gallery/
The history of the struggle for women?s rights is as vibrant in the Eastern world as in the W est M uch like of what we admire about European women who strove for suffrage rights and gender equality, Iranian women possess their own identity in resistance and gender equality; independent of W estern sponsorship and domestic intrigues. W omen have always played a critical role in the political processes of Iran; they strove against imperialism, and foreign intrusions in a nationalist pursuit and postulated their feminist interests simultaneously There are numerous events in the annals of Iran?s history where women stoutly articulated their resistance and significantly contributed to the nationalist cause.
A ligned with nationalist and anti-imperialist resistance, women's activism started in the 19th century against the autocratic rule of the Q ajar monarchy (1789 - 1925) D espite the myriad morality codes ?enforced by vigilantes in public spaces ?Iranian women courageously participated in the countrywide Tobacco Protests (1891) and the Constitutional M ovement in 190 5 against the exploitation of Iran?s land and economic resources by Britain and Russia, condoned by the despotic Q ajar monarchy From here, women in Iran
Bibi ?anom Astarabad?
Image:Wikipedia
began to articulately channel their voices into the political mainstream They formedanjomans/societies and started publishing magazines which became a significant source of awareness and articulation of feminist interests.
Bibi ?anom A starabad?was a well-known supporter of women's rights in nineteenth-century Iran, wrote extensively on women?s issues and opened one of the first elementary schools for M uslim girls. ?ayera E?mat ?ehrani, Taj-al-Sal?ana, Toubi A zmoudeh (the first M uslim woman to establish a school for girls in Iran), A ga Beygom N ajmabadi, ?afiya Yazdi were prominent women activists of
that period. M ohtarma Eskandari was an intellectual and pioneer of the women's movement in Iran and founder of the Patriotic W omen?s League(Jamiyat-e neswan-e watankah) in 1922 H er organisation made enormous efforts to raise awareness among Iranian women O n O ctober 7th, 190 6, public umbrage compelled the monarch to decree the creation of a M ajles (parliament) and ratify the constitution. But for women, this historic success came with a setback, a betrayal; the clergy denied suffrage and education rights to them and legal recognition of their anjomans N evertheless, with the growing mobility and experience of the rally, Iranian women persistently vocalised their gender-specific interests; demanding inclusion in education, employment and enfranchisement; only to be turned away time and again by ulama and M ajles members
D uring the rule of both Pahlavi kings, Reza Pahlavi (1925-1941) and his son M ohammad Reza Pahlavi (1941-1979), from dress codes to economic policies, the state imposed westernization and curbed free speech and diversity in order to suppress the opponents. Laws for the empowerment and inclusion of women in society were introduced incrementally throughout the Pahlavi rule The Pahlavi state espoused feminist interests as a political agenda and not as a program for social well-being The policy of unveiling was significant to project the image of his government to the W est and to diminish the influence of clergy to wield power for his government at home.
In 1935, Eskandri?s Patriotic W omen?s
League and several women's rights organisations were incorporated into a Ladies Center(Kanun-e banovan), a government-sponsored project for women empowerment Renowned women activists of that period including Fakhr A faq Parsa, Sedigheh D oulatabdi and others served as its board members.
Fakhr A faq Parsa, a leading activist in the early twentieth century, was an editor of the magazine Jehan-e-Zanan (W omen?s W orld) in M ashhad, she was assisted by her husband. H owever, they were forced to abandon their publication after recurrent accusations of defaming Islam by the clerical establishment.
Zaban-e Zanan(W omen?s Tongue) was also an acclaimed feminist journal, her editor Sadigheh D oulatabadi, was a towering figure of women's activism in Iran who attended boy?s school in male attire. She was the first woman in Iran?s history to remove the veil publicly. She was also coerced to discontinue her journal
Sedigheh Doulatabdi Image:Wikipedia
The ruthless execution of gender-inclusive reforms restricted their impact from reaching a wider scale in society.
H owever, upper-middle-class and elite women were at advantage due to access to resources and institutions in developed urban areas while the clergy?s influence and patriarchal notions remained entrenched in society
Iranian feminists continued to espouse rights to enfranchisement through independent or state-patronised organisations; women activists like Fatma Sayyah, a profoundly educated, independent woman activist along with Saffiyeh Firuz formed H ezb-e Zanan-e Iran (The W omen?s Party of Iran and later Iran W omen?s Council). They extensively lobbied for women?s suffrage and empowerment. TheJame?ye D emocrat-e Zanan(The D emocratic U nion of W omen or the U nion), the women?s branch of the pro-Soviet Tudeh Party, was one of the most vocal organisations that for the first time, expounded gender issues with class interests; emphasising the unstable conditions of working-class women. The first ever woman Persian ambassador, M ehrangiz D owlatshahi founded the N ew Path Society(Jam??yat-e r?h-e now) in 1955 and played a significant role in drafting the Family Protection Laws (1975) as well as lobbying for women?s enfranchisement
U nder the modernisation program of M ohammad Reza Pahlavi known as the W hite Revolution, family laws and gender equality made advancement with more clarity and the most significant outcome of this gradual progress was - much to the clergy?s resentment - the official approval of women?s enfranchisement in 1963 In a significant government effort to organise and empower women, Princess A shraf Pahlavi (the shah?s twin sister) united eighteen women activist organisations and
Bibi ?anom Astarabad?
Image:Wikipedia
formed the W omen O rganisation of Iran (W O I) She served as its president The W O I was instrumental in the enactment of Family Protection Laws, 1975 (FPL); which increased marriageable age and substantially improved women?s position in legal and traditional matters such as abortion, divorce and polygamy The unveiling was the principal element of the modernisation program for empowering women. This act undoubtedly vitiated the clout of the clergy, weakened its social position and cast a shadow on the dominion of authority for ulama (scholars) The clergy has been an intrinsic part of the Iranian state structure since the Safavid monarchy (150 1-1722) and established Shi?ite faith as the official religion of the state. The Safavid dynasty invested in the clergy with the ultimate power to serve as arbiters (mujtahids) in social and legal matters. A ccording to historians, the clergy wielded the greatest extent of their authority through their control of women and their sexuality By banning the veil and, allowing freedom of movement, education and employment for women, without seeking the approval of clerics heralded a significant change in Iranian society. The introduction of family laws, enfranchisement of women in 1963, and legalisation of abortion in 1973 surpassed the clergy?s jurisdiction. The new divorce laws mandated the legal procedure of divorce to take place in Family Protection Courts instead of under
Under themodernisation program of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi known astheWhite Revolution,family lawsand gender equality made advancement with moreclarity
the supervision of clerics.
W hile the clergy grew anxious about its influence within the state, the secular left groups including socialist parties, were against unbound corruption, lack of democratic mechanisms, class inequality, corruption, censorship, U S imperialism, political persecution and ban on opposition groups.
W omen from the secular left time and again challenged Reza Shah?s aggressive reforms and demanded room for freedom of expressionIn the 1960 s and 1970 s, the secular left women became part of M arxist and progressive guerilla groupsA shraf D ehghani was one such revolutionary guerilla fighter, who left a harrowing account of torture in government detention in her autobiography, similarly, other women also met the same ordeal Simin D aneshvar, Simin Behbahani, and Furuq Farrokhzad were prominent women activists who challenged the status quo with their poetry and writings.
N umerous formerly secular women including W estern-educated women intellectuals, Tahereh Saferzadeh and Zahra Rahnavard joined Islamic groups; they assumed veils in public as a sign of protest to manifest their opposition to Shah?s rule.
W hen the revolution was about to come, Iran was already going through a tense period,In N ovember, 1979, Iranian college students took over the U S Embassy in Tehran, war broke out with Iraq in 1980 , anti-imperialist and anti- government resentment intensified among citizens, and the Pahlavi government increasingly suppressed Islamic groups and progressive
critiques. A midst this chaos,the feminist aspirations fell secondary to the nationalist or anti-imperialistic goals. The radical Islamic section led by Ruhollah Khomeiniin the revolutionary coalition (including M arxist Liberal nationalist groups) prevailed and formed a government; apart from the suffrage rights, the Khomeini government rolled back all pre-revolutionary reforms In contrast to state-sponsored misogyny,the most obvious manifestation of which is coercive veiling and restrictions on women?s travel outside the country. The statistics on the literacy rate of Iranian women are impressive;about 60 per cent of university graduates and holders of higher education are Iranian women N evertheless, many experts believe the Khomeini regime always deemed women as the weaker sex. This era saw women facing numerous barrier in terms of scientific pursuits as well as exploring administrative careers.
Sara Shoghi, a Toronto-based Iranian artist, who shares her thoughts on the prevailing unrest in Iran with the author mentioned that she graduated in aerospace from a prestigious university in Iran but due to the stereotypical male-dominated approach to this field, she was not able to continue working in this field
?It seems that all women, whether they are housewives, students, athletes, artists, or actresses are somehow subjected to this unfair treatment. It is always the law that prevents women from working in many fields or participating at their full potential in society This issue disturbs the balance of progress and tilts the scales in favour of the other side of society It does not allow progress and this is the reason for many migrations to the W est? lamented Sara.
Following the Revolution, feminists and state institutions began creating academic discourses on gender. The W omen?s Society of the Islamic Revolution(Jame?a-ye zanan-e enqelab-e eslami), was a prominent Islamic organisation founded by a nationalist-religious activist, A zam Taleghani, which took over the government agency, W O I There were few women from different Islamic groups who were also included in the post-revolutionary political process. A zam Taleghani, the daughter of A yatollah M a?mud Taleghani, was
representative in the A ssembly of Experts (M ajles-e Khobregan-e Rahbari), which ratified the constitution. Zahr?
Rahnavard, academic, politician and wife of M ir ?osayn M usawi (who became prime minister in 1981), facilitated the Islamisation of the press in the E??el???t Publishing Institute, (E??el???t is Iran?s oldest newspaper) Zahranvard and M usawi have been under house arrest since 20 11and continued to criticise the regime?s crackdown on ongoing protests.
M oral policing and harassment of unveiled and inappropriately veiled women continued, women were instructed to wear loose clothes to conceal their feminine attributes.
H aving lived in Tehran, Sara mentions that ?like many Iranian women, I have always taken the side of caution O n the other hand, there are instances where this limitation is left aside, for example during elections or government rallies during demonstrations of the government?s legitimacy. A s a true example, one of my friends was beaten by the police after she was arrested by the moral police the other day and broke her leg as a result of being beaten This was just one example of many things that have happened ?
elected to the first M ajles She contested in the presidential election in 1997, but was rejected by a male-dominated Guardian Council (Shoura-ye N egahban). She established the Islamic Institute of W omen of Iran (M o?assasa-ye eslami-e zanan-e Iran) and published the journal Payam-e ?ajar M onir Gorji from the Islamic Republican Party (?ezb-e jomhuri-e eslami) was the only woman
W ith such intense policing of gender segregation and choking basic liberties of women, the regime was confronted a social dilemma It found a sexual crisis in Iranian society, and again the panacea was to exploit women?s sexuality In her article, W omen and the Islamic Republic of Iran: A Story of a M uslim W oman?Fatemeh Sedghi posits that the government of President A li A kbar H ashemi Rafsanjani authorised the practice of mutah sigheh (temporary wedding). This aimed at tackling a social and sexual crisis caused by the prohibition of interaction between
Azam Taleghani
Image:Wikipedia
boys and girls. In 20 0 3, houses of chastity were opened where men were allowed to have sexual relations with women in exchange for money; many Iranians including Islamic and secular feminists vehemently opposed this policy and it is practised covertly in the country
D espite prevalent patriarchal notions, women lobbied for gender-exclusive policies and compelled the government to modify its hardline instance; several amendments for the protection of women were incorporated into marriage and divorce laws
Zan?n (W omen) and Farzaneh (W ise), were popular magazines which incorporated Q uranic exegesis with feminist ideology Shahla Sherkat, the editor of Zenan who was a proponent of the Islamic revolutionary regime, unhesitatingly advocated feminist ideas and admonished a sexist code of conduct reinforced by the Khomeini government. Several journals edited by prominent women activists appeared with an extensive academic approach to the issues of women in Iran
H amida Sedghi, a leading scholar of gender and politics in Iran, notes in her book, ?W omen and Politics in Iran: Veiling, U nveling, and Reveiling?, that in the post-revolutionary period, women on the ideological spectrum of secular and Islamic have disaffirmed clerical patriarchal interpretation of the Q uran; among them was Khomeini?s granddaughter, Zahra Eshraqi who denunciated excludent injunctions against women under the guise of shariah
M ehrangiz Kar, Shirin Ebadi (she was one of Iran's first female judges A fter Khomeini's revolution in 1979 she was dismissed), A ?zam Taleqani (late), Fatemeh H aghighatjoo, Zahra Rahnavard,
M asih A linejad, N asrin Sotoudeh, Fa?zeh Rafsanjani, daughter of the former president and niece of Khamenei and editor of the censured magazine, Zan (W oman); Zahra Eshraqi, Khomeini?s granddaughter, who publicly condemned coercive veiling; and many other women in Iran have stood up to the state repression with courage
In 20 0 7, Fatemeh Sedghi wrote in her article, that ?after 25 years of revolution, Tehran?s streets, restaurants, coffee shops, shopping centres, etc are facing a hidden battle between Islamists and the younger generation who refuse to accept the government's codes on veiling and segregation ?The current protests in Iran did not emerge suddenly the Iranian people have been recurrently demonstrating against soaring food prices and economic instability since 20 17. The protest against sky-rocketing gasoline prices in 20 19-20 20 known as Bloody N ovember was huge and protesters staunchly resented the government?s incompetence in tackle the crisis(ed: A lthough much of its inflation and economic crises can also be attributed to various sanctions imposed on the country). Even just before the incident of M ahsa A mini?s death due to custodial torture, massive rallies and protests were being held by citizens after authorities cut subsidies for imported wheat, a move that led to a dramatic increase in the price of bread in M ay 20 22 A mini?s brutal tragedy triggered the wrath of countless victims of Iranian state oppression Sara articulates that due to the large economic gap, Iranian society has become poorer and the middle class is moving towards the lower income deciles. The challenges
change from travelling and having a more spacious house, to providing daily sustenance which is also very difficult and the government does not have a solution.
A s for her experience of growing up in her home country, Sara mentions, "there has always been a sense of insecurity and constant fear. The police and the criminals are not two ends of the spectrum, and this is a very sad experience. The government has always used threats and intimidation to control society Iranian culture, language, dialect, and customs are diverse H owever, the government considers it asymmetrical and rulers have insinuated that without their presence, the country will fall apart, but recent events have demonstrated the unity among people from different walks of life within Iran, in addition to the support of Iranians throughout the world."
A fter three months of protests and the government?s brutal clampdown, the persecution failed to dissipate the fervour of participants of the movement. It is ironic that the regime wants to protect
ZahraEshraqi Image:Wikipedia
women by concealing them from the public eye, but can allow a throng of policemen to clutch, assault or kill them. The IRI forces are controlling the protests with an iron rod, hundreds of children, men and women have been killed, tortured and thousands arrested Families have been threatened to maintain silence over the arrest and custodial torture of their sons and daughters for participating in the insurrection against the ruling regime.
Iranian diaspora is also playing a significant role in propagating the resistance of their countrymen internationally Sara Shoghi is one such person who vividly depicts the sufferings of her countrymen in her sublime artwork. Sara?s work is an adaptation of a well-known Iranian epic,Shahnameh(book of the King). She creates portraits of Iranian protestors being martyred or imprisoned for participating in protests who firmly believed in human freedom and could not be compelled to submit to oppression or be indifferent towards the society in which they live ?Essentially, Iranian painting has been narrative and story paintings for centuries, which have recorded historical events. Furthermore, these works are a symbolic adoption of Iranian motifs that have been rearranged and made new in a new composition and structure, which can be both a reminder of the oriental aesthetics and a retelling of the history of Iran through a new perspective?said Sara In my own small way, I strive to speak for free souls, she asserts.
Protestors in Iran have received worldwide support and recognition; western countries have hurled sanctions on Iran O n the other hand, much reluctance across the M uslim world to react to this historic development can easily be discerned.
The current turmoil in Iran has another disturbing aspect which is ethnic bias against Kurds (a large ethnic minority in Iran). M any Kurds have linked the offensive treatment met to M ahsa to her ethnic identity Jina was a Kurd, and her official name, M ahsa shielded her identity from authorities who despise and persecute Kurds in Iran
Irrespective of outside support for human rights in Iran and repression against freedom of speech and movement from within the country, women in Iran have a history of courageous resistance against patriarchy The prevalent unrest and fearless resistance against tyranny and maladministration possessed a distinguished place in the country?s history insofar as it is spearheaded by Gen Z, and men and women are holding out against patriarchal and autocratic rule that has to be obsolete in the twenty-first century
Based on Sara?s experience, life in Iran is more complicated than in other countries. This complexity increases when it is associated with the female gender From discrimination and one-sided laws to more prohibitions for the crime of being a woman, which is not limited to a specific period of history U nder the guise of the ?Islamic Republic?, the government carries out coercive measures by misappropriating the Islamic name.
Cover I llustration | Mahsa Amini- Mahsa Amini,a 22- year- old Kurdish I ranian woman, was arrested because of an "improper hijab." The police were accused of beatingher and inflictinga fatal head injury; Amini was pronounced dead on September 16, 2022.
Page 2 I llustration | Fatema Sepeheri- a prominent opposition figure has been detained by the I slamic regime since September 21, 2022. Her life is in danger.
Back Cover I llustration | Nika Shakarami16- year- old I ranian teenager abducted and died in the detention of security forces
Illustr ations by @sar ahshoghi