Islamic+Revolution-Sarah+Petersen


 * __ The Impact of the Islamic Revolution on Iranian Women from a North American Perspective __**

Before the Islamic Revolution began, the Shah ruled Iran, he was ruthless and violent and many Iranians wanted him out of the country ([|"History of Iran"]). He had been restored to power by the U.S government because the U.S wanted to spread its imperialism throughout the world, therefore making many Iranians hate America as well for restoring their cruel leader. The Shah used his secret police, the Savak, to violently control Iran ([|"History of Iran"]). An opposition force against the Shah was led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a shiite muslim who was in exile at the time, but planned to return and construct an Islamic Revolution ([|Cohen]). Marji’s parents strongly opposed the Shah, they went to many demonstrations in order to help bring him down. When Kholmeini’s followers finally ran the Shah out of Iran, the people rejoiced ; they were finally rid of their awful, oppressive and violent ruler. If only they had known what was to come.

Two weeks after the Shah left the country, Kohlmeni returned and took the Shah’s place as leader of Iran. He changed Iran’s government to a theocracy, making “Islamic relig ious leaders” the rulers of the government ([|Cohen]) Then, in November, 1979, Kohlmeini followers and Islamic students stormed the US embassy taking 66 hostages. Fourteen of the hostages were released later that month, but the remaining 52 were not released until January 20th, 1981 ([|"History of Iran"]). The hostages were released because the U.S agreed to continue to send money and military equipment to Iran to help feed the Iraq-Iran war that had begun in September of 1980 ([|"History of Iran"]).

Under Kholmeini, the universities were closed because the fundamantalist muslims believed it was “better to have no students at all than to educate future imperialists” (Satrapi 73). However, for kids like Marji, who wanted to study chemistry, their dreams of working in professions that required a college degree were instantly destroyed.

Another negative instance in Kholmeini's unfair reign is the power his ruling gave muslim fundamentalists who followed him. It wasn't direct power, but with social rules, it gave them the power to attack a woman who wasn't wearing the veil along with other things. This very thing occurs twice in //Persepolis//. Once Marji is stopped for not wearing the veil and another time her mother is attacked by a couple of fundamentalist men.

These passages show the brutality of Kholmeini's regime to turn Iran completely Islamic. It also shows how fundamentalist muslims were fulfilling Kholmeini's wishes by creating social expectations alongside his laws.

For example, in //Persepolis//, it wasn't until after the first image shown above that the law stating that "wearing the veil was obligatory"(Satrapi 74) was put into place. There already had been a social expectation to wear the veil and it was said that the law was created after many of these events to avoid rape because "women's hair emanates rays that excite men" (Satrapi 74).

In //Persepolis//, it is made quite clear that Marji and her family are against the forced religion and the veil. They frequently disobey the law by having parties, not wearing the veil, drinking, and other small acts of rebellion to express their distaste for the Islamic government. This shows that not all people believed in having their government mixed with religion. An oppressive government had taken control of their lives and taken away many of their freedoms. Some people left, if they could, but to many, including the Satrapis, they couldn't leave their home. So these people stayed in Iran in hope that one day it would become free of its oppressive government.

As a North American, I notice a significant difference between our variety of cultures and Iran's generally single, Islamic culture. But forcing myself to look at the similarities, I find quite a few: This photo shows the rather backwards similarities between the Islamic and North American cultures. I personally enjoy this photo because of the interesting things it tells us about our seemingly very different cultures. For instance, in the Islamic culture, it is mandatory that women wear veils. The idea of this is so the temptation of a woman's body and hair is taken away from a society. However in the North American culture, women who show off their bodies are welcomed and it is somewhat encouraged in our society. This is because men have set a standard for women that implies that women should show off their bodies and hair as much as possible because it is pleasing for people to look at. Almost every woman wants to be the skinny, tan, sexy blonde so they can feel wanted and loved because it is the standard that has been set. So North American women may look at Islamic women as being in an oppressive and male-dominated culture, but we need to understand that they look at us the very same way.

Having made this observation, I think it is appropriate for me to think of how Iranians would have reacted to the Islamic revolution. I will compare it to the North American culture and analyze the differences between fundamentalist and more rebellious people and their reactions to the revolution.

I believe there are three different views people when it comes to a government creating a rather oppressive law. The rebel, the indifferent or neutral person, and the generally more fundamentalist person. In //Persepolis// Satrapi mainly talks about the rebels and the fundamentalists in Iran. In the U.S there are left wing liberal Democrats (generally more rebellious),Independents (indifferent or neutral) and right wing conservative Republicans (generally more political fundamentalists), although it goes deeper than just those three. As a less religious, more rebellious and one hundred percent left wing liberal Democratic North American, I agree with Marji's parents, and would have protested the veil and the lack of human rights. However for my more religious but not overly-so friends, if it was part of their religion to wear the veil, they would wear it but expect that others not have to. And generally for the fundamentalists and extreme conservatives, they would not only strongly support the veil, but expect others to wear it. As for the Islamic Revolution, there would be a very similar reaction, just on a larger scale. Therefore, the extremes of the U.S's political parties would be very similar to the groups of people Satrapi described in //Persepolis//. Kholmeini imposed religious customs and ideas on his people and fundamentalists fully supported them ; extreme right wing conservative Republicans tried to impose their religious ideals on North Americans through things such as trying to institute prayer in public schools. Rebellious Iranians impose their ideas through protests of the veil, trying to create a society where women and men are equal ; left wing liberal extremists (like me, for example) try to impose their ideas on others through supporting forward-thinking movements such as allowing marriage for gay couples.

Women's rights in Iran have been significantly held back in Iran since the Islamic Revolution ([|Fathi]). This is possibly the largest effect that was imposed on the Iranian society in the 1980s that continues today.

Women have very similar (though not completely equal) rights to men in America, however, in Iran, women are practically owned by men. Their rights are limited. For example, when a woman testifies in a court of law, her testimony is only worth half of what they would credit her if she were a man. Also, if someone leaves a woman money in their will that the woman will inherit upon their death, she will not get as much money as the males inherit. And possibly the most surprising, a woman cannot be "granted guardianship rights for their children, even upon the death of their husbands" ([|Bajoria]). This is the Islamic religion's law, not so much the Iranian constitution. The constitution basically says that women and men's have equal rights unless said otherwise by the "'Islamic criteria'" ([|Bajora]). To a North American, who lives in what is almost a free country, this idea of combining the government with a specific religion is absurd.

In Persepolis, Satrapi describes being stopped on the street by two fundamentalist women who rather violently encourage her to lower her veil and dress like they do. She also describes when her mother is stopped by two fundamentalist men and threatened vulgarly to wear the veil. This shows the rights of women in Iran. The law is that the veil is to be worn, but again, the social standard is that it is worn properly and that women are dressed to the likings of fundamentalists. Some agree with the lack of women's rights in Iran, like the fundamentalist people that stopped both Marji and her mother, however many others do not. They think it is cruel and unfair to women and needs to be changed.

Women deserve to be treated equally to men, no matter what some people's religion might say. In the United States, there are many people from almost every religion, so if we were to combine our government with one religion, it would be unfair to all the people of other religions. Mixing religion with government just doesn't work because, for one, it restricts peoples freedom of religion, but therefore goes on to take away other rights that coincide with the religion. People need to remember that society changes with time, and these religions were written so long ago, that they need to change to fit society. The government can change and evolve through a democracy, but religions evolve much more slowly People cannot help but evolve physically and mentally, and society grows out of some religions and therefore, all these ancient ideals can do is evolve to fit with society. Even in the U.S this is a problem, and the only way to overcome it is to let religion advance to the needs of the people.

In Iran, the rebels of the Islamic republic are facing a similar problem, but the problem is decades behind the U.S. Since the 2009 elections especially, Women activists are fighting for their right to dress as they please and vote, among other rights not yet obtained ([|"Fighting for Women's Rights"]). They technically protest against the Islamic ideal, which is that women are not equal to men. However, this ideal was established many years ago and is now out of date as other societies of the world defy it. Iranian women are among the last to have this law against their freedom and as they see others obtain the freedom they long for, they strive for liberation. An Iranian woman activist, Sussan Tahmasebi, is fighting for her rights along with so many other women. Tahmasebi was even thrown in jail with 32 other activists for what she did. She expresses her surprise at the idea that after all they have done, women are still inferior to men. She says : “'We have female doctors, we have politicians, MPs... It’s paradoxical that, despite these achievements, discrimination against women is embedded in the legal system, and that lawmakers justify it by saying it's based in religion'" ([|"Fighting for Women's Rights"]).

Sussan is just one of the many women's activists in Iran. And she is a lucky one. Many women do not have such good luck protesting. For example, a Kurdish activist named Ghader Mohammadzadeh's court sentence was changed from 23 years in prison to death because of a "larger crackdown on dissent" in 2010 ([|Fathi]). Also, Amir Reka Arefi was charged with "waging war against God" and sentenced to death as well ([|Fathi]). Not only are people being forced to follow these unfair rules, but those who refuse face serious punishment.

After studying the Islamic revolution and its effects on Iranian women from an American viewpoint, I can conclude that the human rights of women in Iran are very far behind the rights of American women. This is a problem because women are revolting and things are getting violent. Also, mixing the government with religion strangles the evolution of society. Although there is extremism in the U.S, our government and religions are separate, so our society is allowed to evolve and thrive. This is crucial in order to continue to expand democracy and make the rights of all people equivalent.

// By Sarah Petersen //

Sussan Tahmasebi, a woman's rights activist's "One Million Signatures Campaign:" []

__// Sources: //__
 * 1) Cohen, Roger. "1979: Iran's Islamic Revolution." The New York Times Upfront. Scholastic Inc. Web. 02 May 2012. <[]>.
 * 2) "History of Iran: Islamic Revolution of 1979." Iran Chamber Society. Iran Chamber Society. Web. 06 May 2012. <[]>.
 * 3) Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York: Pantheon, 2003. Print.
 * 4) "Fighting for Women's Rights in Iran." Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, 31 Oct. 2011. Web. 07 May 2012. <[]>.
 * 5) Fathi, Nazila. "Iranians Protest Bill On Rights Of Women." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Feb. 2010. Web. 07 May 2012. <[]>.
 * 6) Bajoria, Jayshree. "Why Human Rights In Iran Are Getting Worse and What To Do About It." The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group, 2 Nov. 2011. Web. 07 May 2012. <[]>.