I wonder how long such cultures would survive if women could freely emigrate?

Oh, and putting the women in charge of enforcing "public morality" is a stroke of genius. When people complain about the oppressive patriarchy, the government can say "but its the wimmin doin it to ya, lolz."

Wow, I had no idea about any of this. Thanks, Feministing, for covering what the MSM won't.

Handmaids Tale anyone?

This is so depressing. Circulating around the office.

Handmaids Tale anyone?

This is so depressing. Circulating around the office.

Thanks for posting this. I'm going to email it to everyone I know.

“I wonder how long such cultures would survive if women could freely emigrate?�
Uh, Emigrate? So you think all Iranian women would all immediately leave their (male) loved ones, the land they were born in, the language they speak, etc. etc. to go Europe/the US if they were given visas? Why? Because Americans just love us? Because Americans don’t have prejudice? Because they don’t look at us funny if we choose to keep our headscarf? Because we are not ourselves part of the Iranian culture and we could just as easily feel at home in any other culture? I am one of those who actually chose to leave (though women’s rights was not the major deciding factor for me), but exile and uprootedness are in no way fun and I have the utmost respect for young people like Jelveh who stay there and fight.

sojourner-

Not all of the women, just enough to damage the culture's viability. Goodness knows lots of people with means left, including my parents. I wonder how many more would leave if they had the means.

In any case, it was just me musing aloud, not making a policy recommendation.

Thats horrific. Whenever I catch articles like this I'm reminded how grateful I am to the feminists that fought for our rights in America. We shouldnt take them for granted. Imagine what it would be like as a feminst in Iran, and how difficult it would be. I think international businesses that are run by feminist women should build networks to act as an outlet for these women and help support their cause.

I actually agree with sojourner. Usually I've disagreed with her about muslim dress, but why shouldnt one stay and fight in order to change the culture so women shouldnt have to feel the need to leave. Culture is important, and needs to change when it is not enlightened. I would hate it if women from my culture just up and left rather than fight for their freedom in their land.

Gopher-

Sojourner's position is that it's better to leave, all things considered. She left.

As a student of Iran and a fluent speaker of Farsi I have spent many years talking with Iranians regarding womens issues. This is just another in a long line of travesties against women and free press in general.

Though the Shah was corrupt and very bad in a lot of ways for the country, women were far better off during his reign than during this time of the Islamic Republic. Unfortunately Iran has been successful in spinning some of the rights women in Iran do have to make the world think they are not in the same league as Saudi Arabia and others. We need more press on this issue in Iran but our leadership has foolishly squandered any chance of a dialogue with Iran. The Iranian people are very much for womens rights (though not completely as we in the West know them) and a much less virulent strain of Islam than we see in other countries in the region.

If you can stomach it, you might still be able to find some of the videos smuggled out of Evin prison. Truly a courageous person to have filmed it, the most infamous one I have seen is the stoning of a young woman. If you ever feel a need for something to rage against, watch that video. It is not short and shows what happens in country where the voice of the people is cut off.

MrMorden ,

My position is that the morally superior thing to do is to stay and fight. I left because I am selfish and yellow.

sojourner-

I would say that you're not being fair to yourself, but I don't think I'm going to be able to convince of the righteousness of rational selfishness in this thread.

I would, however, say that your analysis is dead wrong if you have or plan to have children.

women were far better off during his reign than during this time of the Islamic Republic

I'll say. They totally threw out the baby with the bathwater in 1979. I'm glad my family was already gone.

"In the meantime, the capital is setting up women-run police stations to arrest other women who, for example, wear 'tight, short coats and skimpy headscarves.' That's right, 'skimpy headscarves.' Sigh."

WTF. o_O

Do the cops have nothing better to do, like maybe enforce traffic laws more? From Mom's descriptions, Tehran is like a combo of Boston drivers, Los Angeles car-centricity, and German highway speed limits. That sounds more dangerous than someone's hijab exposing her hairline as well as her forehead.

"I am one of those who actually chose to leave (though women’s rights was not the major deciding factor for me)"

My mother's another one (likewise, in her case women's rights weren't one of the major deciding factors).

"exile and uprootedness are in no way fun and I have the utmost respect for young people like Jelveh who stay there and fight."

I totally agree.

"Usually I've disagreed with her about muslim dress, but why shouldnt one stay and fight in order to change the culture so women shouldnt have to feel the need to leave."

Also, why shouldn't one stay and inherit...?

Isn't this a generation gap too? I heard that the vast majority of the 20somethings in Iran don't prefer these laws even while they do prefer other Iranian laws. Sojourner, is that true? Also, what do you think will happen in Iran later when Jelveh's generation is in charge?

"Though the Shah was corrupt and very bad in a lot of ways for the country, women were far better off during his reign than during this time of the Islamic Republic."

The version I heard was a mixed bag - during the Shah's time cops didn't enforce hijab, fewer rural parents sent daughters to school, etc.

"My position is that the morally superior thing to do is to stay and fight. I left because I am selfish and yellow."

You are not selfish and yellow. Neither is my mom. While you gave up the opportunity to stay and fight, I bet you also gained the opportunity to do something else good.

That was very informing dananddanica.

I'm planning on watching a special on CNN about Afghanistans women that airs tomorrow. Its horrific. I'm absolutely amazed at what feminists in these countries risk, and think the west, particularly western women need to support them economically (ie, business donations to their cause, ect).

Mina,

Yeah, I do think that a great majority of 20-something Iranians don’t agree with laws that discriminate against women (I am not sure I understand what you mean by “while they do prefer other Iranian laws�. ) but that doesn’t necessarily translate to policy change in a couple of decades (i.e. when Jelveh’s generation are in charge), because when there is no democracy the majority opinion doesn’t count as anything.

"I am not sure I understand what you mean by 'while they do prefer other Iranian laws'"

I should have been more clear. Sorry!

I was thinking of how one can be against some awful laws without hating the nation's whole entire body of law and going all anarchist, libertarian, or "we should totally copy [insert name of foreign nation]" instead.

I want to recommend "Iran Awakening" by Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi to people who haven't read much about feminism in Iran. Obviously, it is just one woman's perspective, but I feel like I have a much better sense of the changes (in law, and in actual women's daily lives) over the last forty years in Iran. She's a good writer, and a zealous human rights lawyer.
I'm not sure how her book was received domestically, but I learned a great deal from it, and strongly recommend it to feminists who don't know much about Iran.

Mina,
Exactly, as you know not all of the laws are so regressive and "evil". The people have been able to work through some reforms.

Also keep in mind that while the ruling regime is devout fundamentalist, a lot of Iranians have quite a strong and proud nationalistic streak that for a lot supercedes even their relgious beliefs when they are able to discuss the two as separate items.

The people of Iran are capable of amazing things in all areas to include womens rights and if we can find some way to support those who would get rid of the islamic regime we would be making the world a better place. That being said any interference in internal Iranian politics, such as with mossadegh, is a dangerous road to walk as the Iranians have quite a long memory (resulting from being conquered so many times).

Iran may very well be one of the best countries for us to highlight to the rest of America if we can make some progress with them in the next 5-10 years.

What you said about the Shah, from what I understand, was correct. It was a mixed bag, highly dependent upon what class you belonged to.
-rooyah