Women In Iran

September 21, 2004 8:41 PM

Women In IranWith the slogan of "Women's Right Is Human Right", the website tries to tell the story of struggles, issues and successes of Iranian women, and in this way we would like to extend our hands to and welcome all those who believe in the social and intellectual equality of women and men.
posted by hoder (3 comments total)

Thanks, hoder; the women's experiences stories are especially good and I hope they expand that section of the site.

Other food for thought on how one of the most egalitarian societies in the Middle East became so backwards:

"At the time of Iran's 1978 revolution, one third of the country's university students were women, two million women were in paid employment, and the number of professional women holding university degrees exceeded 190,000. A year later, as the victory of the Islamic revolution was celebrated, religious extremists stepped forward to reformulate government policy. Hard won women's rights were the first to go as the segregation of the sexes became the focal point of the new state regulations. Within months of the establishment of the Islamic Republic, a declaration from Ayatollah Khomeini's office abolished the Family Protection Law. Shortly after, women lost their right to sit as judges, those working at government offices were ordered to observe the Islamic dress code, the marriage age girls was reduced back to 13 years, and married women were barred from attending regular schools. Women's protests on International Women's Day 1979 went unheard as their microphones were sabotaged and wrecked..."

-- from Struggles and Brutality in Iran: the fundamentalist backlash against women's progress

See also: A BRIEF HISTORY OF WOMEN’S MOVEMENTS IN IRAN 1850 – 2000
posted by Asparagirl at 10:14 PM on September 21, 2004

Cool site. I thought the experience section was well written / translated. I would agree with Asparagirl in her hopes they expand on it.
posted by chunking express at 11:12 PM on September 21, 2004

This a great post-- I never would have come across it, and I enjoyed every link. Thanks!
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 10:52 AM on September 22, 2004