Reza Shah era (1925–1941)
Women’s first strides were in education: in 1928, they were provided with financial support to study abroad; in 1935 they were admitted to Tehran University,[9] and in 1944 education became compulsory. In 1932, the second Congress of Women of the East was organized in Tehran, and Iranian women activists met with activists from Lebanon, Egypt, India and Iraq.[8] Dowlatabadi was the secretary. In 1936, Reza Shah Pahlavi set the mandatory unveiling of women—a highly controversial policy which nonetheless was significant for the desegregation of women.[8]
The 1940s saw a heightened consciousness of the role of women in society; and the 1950s the birth of numerous women’s rights organizations, among which Rah-e Now (New Path) founded by Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi in 1955,[10] and Women’s League of Supporters of the Declaration of Human Rights founded by Safieh Firouz in 1956.[11] In 1959 fifteen of those organizations formed a federation called the High Council of Women’s Organizations in Iran.[12] The High Council decided to concentrate its efforts on women’s suffrage.
Despite much opposition by clerics, the suffrage was gained in 1963 when a national referendum reflected general support for the 6-point reform program known as the White Revolution which included women’s right to vote and to stand for public office. Six women were elected to Parliament (Majlis).[9]
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi era (1941–1979)
Women Parliamentarians of Iran in mid 1970s Tehran, Iran
In the late 1960s, women entered the diplomatic corps, the judiciary and police force, and the revolutionary service corps (education, health and development):[13] in 1968, Farrokhroo Parsa became Minister of Education - she was the first woman to hold a cabinet position; in 1969 the judiciary was opened to women and five female judges were appointed, including future Nobel prize winner Shirin Ebadi. Women were elected to town, city and county councils.[14]
Looking for a way to achieve a more viable organization structure for women’s activities, a coalition of women’s groups forms the Women’s Organization of Iran in 1966.[15]
The Women’s Organization of Iran
Though the WOI was patroned by Princess Ashraf (the Shah’s twin sister), Iranian women and the WOI had to fight for every improvement in their lives.[16] The Women’s Organization of Iran was a non-profit grassroots organization working mainly through volunteers. Its goals were to encourage women’s education for change, to work towards securing economic independence for women, and at the same time to remain within the spirit of Islam and the cultural traditions of the nation. It worked through local branches and Women’s Centers, which provided useful services for women – literacy classes, vocational training, counseling, sports and cultural activities and childcare.[15][17]
One of the major victories of the WOI was the Family Protection Law of 1975. It granted women’s equal rights in marriage and divorce, enhanced women’s rights in child custody, increased the minimum age of marriage to 18 for women and 20 for men, and practically eliminated polygamy.[18]
Abortion was also made legal without arousing much public attention, by removing the penalty for performing the operation embodied in a law dealing with medical malpractice.[19] All labor laws and regulations were revised to eliminate sex discrimination and incorporate equal pay for equal work. Women were encouraged to run for political office.[17]
By 1978 nearly 40% of girls 6 and above were literate; over 12,000 literacy corps women were teaching in villages; 33% of university students were women, and more women than men took the entrance exam for the school of medicine. 333 women were elected to local councils, 22 women were elected to parliament, and 2 served in the Senate. There were one cabinet minister (for women’s affairs), 3 sub-cabinet under-secretaries, one governor, an ambassador, and five women mayors.[20]
Iran has also established itself as playing a leading role for women’s rights among developing countries, introducing ideas and funds for the UN Regional Center for Research and Development for Asia and the Pacific, and the International Center for Research on Women.[20]
Post-revolutionary period
After the Iranian Revolution in February 1979, the status of women changed substantially. The massive participation of women in the 1978–79 revolution was in part a result of the mobilization efforts of women’s organization in the preceding decades, including the WOI’s activities in the late 1960s and 70s during which women had gained consciousness of their own collective political power, and understood the need for women to assert themselves. Women marched in support of a freer, more egalitarian government.[17] With passage of time, some of the rights that women had gained under Shah, were systematically removed, through legislation, such as the forced wearing of the hijab, particularly the chador.[21] Soon after the revolution, there were rumors of plans for forced hijab, and abolition of some women’s rights protected by “Family protection act” conceived to be “against Islam”. The rumors were denied by some state officials and many women refused to accept it. Not long after, however, the rumors were realized.[22]
A new family law was annulled, and veiling became obligatory.[23] Farrokhrou Parsa, the first woman to serve in the Iranian cabinet, was executed.[20][24]
The veiling law was met with protests comprising heterogeneous groups of women. The demonstrations did not aim to expand women’s rights in Iran, but simply to keep what they had already earned. There were three major collective attempts to voice concerns:[1]
A five-day demonstration starting on March 8, 1979
The Conference of Unity of Women in December 1979
Demonstrations after the Ayatollah Khomeini's decree on eliminating any symbol or practice reminiscent of the Shah's rule. A consequence of that decree was forced hijab.
These collective attempts, as well as the smaller ones, not only faced opposition from the Islamic conservatives, but were sometimes damaged by the leftist and rightist political groups, exemplified by the organization of a demonstration scheduled by the Fedai for the same day as that of the Conference of Unity of Women in December 1979 — despite the pleas mentioned above.[25] In fact, most leftist groups did not have a well-established vision or plan for pursuing women’s rights. The status of women, it was presumed, would be improved automatically by the establishment of an ideal socialist/communist society.[26]
Aspects of Islamic law pertaining to women can be seen in Articles 20 and 21 of the 1979 constitution, and two manifestations of Islamic law are now infamous among women’s rights activists: stoning and polygamy, to name two.[27]
At the beginning of the revolution, some of the leaders of the women’s rights, were discredited.[28][29]
Twenty-first century activism
For the first time since the revolution, several women succeeded in 1997 in getting into a stadium to watch a soccer match.[30] Female legal consultants have been introduced in special family courts.[31]
One Million Signatures for the Repeal of Discriminatory Laws notable campaign was launched in 2006 to collect one million signatures in support of changing discriminatory laws against women in Iran and reforming of family laws, to ask Parliament for the revision and reform of current laws which discriminate against women. Another campaign was ‘Stop Stoning Forever’ [32]
By all accounts, the degree of mobilization and consciousness among women in Iran is remarkable.[33] The women’s rights movement is vibrant and well-organized.[34] The movement has also been credited with very smart use of information and communication technologies.[35] However, the active participation of many women in the revolution helped awaken many women about their political potential, and many middle-class women acted increasingly to support women’s rights. Increasing vocal opposition to policies which sanctioned polygamy, temporary marriage, free divorce for men, and child custody to fathers also took hold. A growing trend of women began to interpret Islam in more gender-egalitarian ways with the entry of more women in the public sphere and limitation of discourse to Islamic parameters. Growing activism and publicity brought some legal remedies to the women’s struggle for example limits on a husband’s right to prevent his wife from taking a job, and a new marriage contract which gave women the right to divorce. Judges became more sympathetic to women’s issues because of the hardship, and when some reforms did not make it through the legislative process, the government tried to ameliorate some of the injustices and gave instructions to the courts on how to do so.
As more Iranian girls were being educated in the 1980s, and the government opened higher religious education to women, some mastered technical forms of Islamic argumentation which helped in the fight for the liberalization of women’s rights. Furthermore many women became successful entrepreneurs, and worked in other highly visible professions including parliament. As stated in an interview in 1996, prominent secular lawyer Mehrangiz Kar stated “The revolution gave women confidence in themselves. With all the sacrifices they made, Iranian women know how much their current and future rulers owe to them. This demand is no longer that of a group of women; it is a nationwide one. The Islamic government cannot escape it without risking a brutal separation of the state and religion.”[36]
Iranian feminism
Iranian feminists generally fall into two camps when it comes to the women’s rights movement in Iran, post 1979. Some believe that Islamization has resulted in the “marginalizing” of women. Others believe that through the dynamic nature of Islamic law, known as Sharia, a unique consciousness of feminism has been formed in Iran. Both these views have been challenged.[37]
Among the women’s rights activists in Iran, feminism means different things. A major contrast is seen between secular feminists and those who are dubbed Islamic feminists, on the nature of feminism.[37]
Islamic feminists, or more accurately Muslim feminists, are those women rights advocates who seek to improve the status of women through more favorable interpretations of Islamic law, supporting what is called “Dynamic Interpretation” (“Feqh-e pouya” in Persian). Some Muslim feminists would rather be called “indigenous feminists” (feminist-e boomi),they are fighting for more rights for women.
Despite the disagreements among different factions, when it comes to the improvement of women’s conditions, feminist groups have shown that they can cooperate with an emphasis on common ground.[38] The chief editor of Zanan magazine, Shahla Sherkat, for example, a woman with definite religious beliefs, invited prominent Muslim women rights activist Shirin Ebadi, and prominent secular women rights activist Mehrangiz Kar, to write on women’s issues in her magazine.[37] These activists have also taken advantage of new technologies in their efforts for women’s rights; Mehrangiz Kar, for example, has taught classes and written manuals on women’s rights defense for Tavaana: E-Learning Institute for Iranian Civil Society. [39]