Challenges Faced By Iranian Women

Whereas the women’s suffrage movements focused mainly on overturning legal obstacles to equality, the feminist movements successfully addressed a broad range of other feminist issues. The first dealt primarily with voting rights and the latter dealt with inequalities such as equal pay and reproductive rights. Both movements made vast gains to the social and legal status of women. One reached its goals while the other continues to fight for women’s rights.

Historically, “Women and Gender in Islam” discusses the social, political, legal, and religious discourses and structures that have shaped the experience of Muslim women

“Hey Terrorist!! Go back to your country!” Are you oppressed? , Were you forced to wear this head scarf? “Do you wear a scarf while taking shower”? These sort of statements and questions soon became a part of my everyday life, when I moved to New York. My sophomore year of my college was an eye-opening year for me. I declared women’s studies as my minor and I felt this weird comfort inside me after getting introduced to feminism. I was happy to know that I was not the only one who was being treated as “other” in the society. There were people who were, are and is still struggling and fighting for their rights. As an American Muslim woman, I felt more comfortable around these people, around those who felt like minorities, who felt as if there were not being valued and equally treated in today’s society. But now I want to address few issues and share my thoughts about how Islam has made me a feminist.

If NOW grew out of resurgence of middle class feminism, a different female revolt was brewing with the civil rights and student movements. As in the days of abolitionism, young women who had embraced an ideology of social equality and personal freedom and learned methods of political organizing encountered inequality and sexual exploitation. The women’s liberation movement inspired major expansions of the idea of freedom by insisting that it should be applied to the most intimate realms of life.

“An Introduction to Muslim Women’s Rights.” Windows of Faith: Muslim Women Scholar-activists in North America. Gisela Webb ed. (Syracuse: Syracuse UP, 2000).

There are many political, religious, and cultural factors that shape the lives of Islamic women many of them are completely different than factors in the lives of American women. Islam is one of the world’s fastest growing religions; however, Brooks argues that “Islam’s holiest texts have been misused to justify the repression of women, and how male pride and power have warped the original message of this once liberating faith.” The book also shows these factors have slowly been taking away women’s rights, rather than furthering them.

I’m often touted by friends for not being realistic enough for the topic I spend so much time supporting, but I believe, even with all the horrors many women endure, that women can and will unite to free themselves. It may take many more years – I’m not a prophet, but I know the strength of female energy. We carry life and give birth. I don’t see those who are being suppressed remaining in those

There were five Capital students who were on a panel and discussed what being Muslim was like and their take of feminism. I found it interesting, that again in the media, Muslim women are seen to be oppressed and seen as the lesser. An important point, these women made was that according to the Koran, women are held higher than men because women brought men into the world. I also found it interesting in regards to how these women felt about being Muslim but from different countries. One panelist said, “all the same religion, but all different cultures,” which is why in some countries they wear Hijab and some they do

The definition of feminism is very elusive. Maybe because of its ever-changing historical meaning, it’s not for certain whether there is any coherence to the term feminism or if there is a definition that will live up to the movement’s variety of adherents and ideas. In the book “No Turning Back,” author Estelle Freedman gives an accurate four-part definition of the very active movement: “Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently part of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are necessary to achieve equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with other social hierarchies” (Freedman 7).

After reading the book “Feminism for everybody” by Bell Hooks, I found out that the name feminism itself is a big problem because it makes men to think that women were blaming and insulting their gender instead of fight for their equal rights. Therefore, they are raising issues like violence, patriarchy and domination to proof that men’s were monsters, so men should don’t deserve more rights than them. So the way of women protests get equalities is not right because it hurts men’s and force them to think that women were trying to say that their gender is better they should get more priorities than men’s instead of being both gender equal. By looking all these problems, I also think name feminism itself, not a good name for this movement because

Many believe that Islam is one of the world's greatest religions. Millions of men, andwomen have found comfort and peace with Islam, as well as people of different creeds have learned to live together. Islam has enriched and inspired the lives of people all around the world and most of its traditions are from the Qur'an. Unfortunately, some have taken the words to mean hatred, violence, and even a ground for the oppression of women. Women have often been on the receiving end of this interpretation. . Women in general, are still being discriminated against in the world today, but being a Muslim woman in America, have unthinkable consequences and daily hardships that many of us American’s could not begin to understand.

In the society of Iran in 1980s, “wearing ties, cologne, perfume, makeup, or nail polish was declared “satanic” and therefore subject to severe punishment”(Nemat 121). Things that are ordinary to us could lead people in Iran to get punished, especially to women in Iran. She was captured by the government because she met a friend who were protesting for anti-revolution. The government suppress the freedom of speech and arrest the citizens. Marina was a prisoner, therefore she could not have any rights to refuse her arranged marriage. Even worse, to get married, she had to convert her religious to Islam. Even that marriage was temporary marriage as she says, “[I]n a temporary marriage, the woman had no rights whatsoever”(156).

Unfair treatment towards women reached new heights since the Islamic Republic established in 1979 revived old Islamic tradition and enforced policies based on male centered ideologies. Women were thought of as emotional, immature, delicate, irrational, and weak. Men were considered stronger, rational, and overall superior to women in most ways. From 1979 to the 1980s women employment decreased and many were fired for inappropriate excuses such as appearance, but women's enrollment in primary school increased. During that period strict laws were passed about how women should dress and what they should do with their bodies. Women were required to hide under dark garments and this implied that they were responsible for men's actions. Government also wanted women to be maintained as virgins and this implied the control that men had over their bodies. In addition, woman could not do many things without male consent contrary to males leaving their wives without any consent necessary. In another example, girls of only nine years of age were considered adults while boys of the same age were not. Many of these ideas and policies put together formed an ideal place for crime, oppression, and abuse

The idea of women being equal to men has been debated for a very long time. Even when civilizations were just starting, most women were treated very differently from men. When women started fighting against this oppression they were called feminists. Feminism can be separated into three waves. The first wave of feminism was from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. The second wave was from the 1960s to the 1980s. The third wave of feminism started in the 1990s, but its end is unclear. Some people believe it has ended and the fourth wave of feminism has started, but others believe it continues today. The different waves have been very different in some aspects, but very similar in others. The main differences between the first and third wave of feminism are what they fought for, how they protested, and society’s reaction to their cause.

Although Western feminism started in the 1900s, yet, it didn’t reach the Islamic world until most recently, a couple of hundred years later than the West. Despite the fact that both of the feminism movements come from totally different back grounds, and they are affected by different history and culture, still, both of them aimed for women’s best interests. Muslim women were profoundly feeling aggrieved by the discrimination they have against them. They stereotypical reputation about them in the West, and their presentation in the Western media didn’t help either. They started and supported a new fight to regain themselves the equal status they were granted by Islam centuries ago. Muslim women didn’t like to be looked at as being backward and oppressed by men in a male-dominant world. According to the feminist historian Margot Badran, “Islamic feminism is a feminist discourse and practice articulated within an Islamic paradigm. Islamic feminism, which derives its understanding and mandate from the Qur 'an, seeks rights and justice for women, and for men, in the totality of their existence.” (Badran, 2001)