Iran Echo Boomers: Women Behind the Veil
With the growing social unrest within the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Iranian government is facing a crossroads of its very existence. Young Iranian echo boomers (mirroring the socially active American baby boomers) are becoming increasingly vocal in their dissatisfaction with perceived social inequities. Chief among these concerns is the rights of women in the Islamic Republic. For now, they are looking toward their government as a means of change. How long, however, will it be before peaceful reformation gives way to forceful revolution?
Gender inequality is a social injustice with which American baby boomers are very familiar. It is certain that many baby boomers view the plight of Iranian women with a great deal of empathy. Iranian women, for their part, are well aware of the limitations they face and have been strong voices for change in their country. It is an ironic twist of fate that the plight of women in Iran actually witnessed significant gains under the previous oppressive regimes of the Shahs.
The Pahlavi government – which featured a line of Shahs from 1925 to 1979 – was a pro-western regime. Unfortunately for the Shah, Iranians were generally conservative Muslims who chaffed under the measures that were being advocated. The Shah was so unpopular, in fact, that virtually every rival faction in Iran was united to bring the government down and to establish an Islamic Republic. However, being a pro-west regime, the Pahlavi Shahs instituted a number of progressive reforms concerning women’s rights over the years.
In 1936, for example, Reza Shah passed a law that forbade women from wearing the hijab (head covering worn by Muslim women). Women also found themselves more involved in the workforce. Educational opportunities were opened up as well. Under the Pahlavi regimes, women rose to such posts as government ministers and even judges. In fact, Nobel Prize recipient Shirin Ebadi, was Iran’s first female judge. By 1963, Iran instituted universal suffrage and women were elected to parliament. American baby boomers, at the time, could have taken heart to some of the Iranian women advances.
Much of this hard won effort, however, would come to an end with the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Again, ironically, women played a very key role in the success of the revolution as they were instrumental in the mass demonstrations. Nevertheless, the problem is two fold. On the one hand, Islam as a religion has defined roles for men and women in certain aspects of daily life. On the other hand, Iran – like many other locales around the world – is a male dominated (some could say misogynistic) culture.
Dealing with the latter is less of a challenge than dealing with the former. Issues such as the weight of a woman’s testimony in court (2 women equals 1 man), mode of dress in public and inheritance guidelines are Qur’anic in nature. In other words, these are areas in which Muslims believe divine guidance has been given. For women to challenge these types of perceived restrictions is to challenge the religious foundations on which the state is formed. These types of challenges are generally met with firm resistance from the government.
However, in regards to measures that stem from cultural bias, Iranian women seem to have more flexibility. Employment opportunities fall into this category. Despite a high number of Iranian women enrolled in higher education (70% of engineering students, for example are women), employment opportunities are routinely denied. Thus the separation of the sexes hinders women in this endeavor.
Much in the same way American baby boomers brought attention and eventual resolution to gender inequality, so to must Iranian echo boomers. The Iranian government, for its part, must recognize the differences between true religious concerns and cultural biasness. Perhaps by relaxing many of the non-religious restraints, the Islamic Republic can begin establishing a constructive dialog for effective reformation for its citizens without compromising Islamic tenants.
This Psychological Article on Reflections of A Generation (pt.4): Behind the Veil – Women In Iranis part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of psychological articles on World Religions, politics and understanding as a solution to types of discrimination. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.
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