# Ba'athism - please explain **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 25, 2015, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baathism-please-explain/738505 "2015-11-25T03:12:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baathism-please-explain/738505/1 "2015-11-25T03:12:45Z")
How does it relate to social rights, secularism and women’s rights ? Now and in the past ? For example, is it true that even under Saddam’s Ba’ath party, women had more chance of a career than they do now ? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baathism-please-explain/738505/2 "2015-11-25T03:37:59Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > How does it relate to social rights, secularism and women’s rights ? Now and in the past ? > For example, is it true that even under Saddam’s Ba’ath party, women had more chance of a career than they do now ? The Ba’athist regime was more secular, certainly, than the Iraqi governments post Gulf War II. The current regime (and regimes since the US invasion) have all embraced Sharia law (which is favored by an overwhelming majority of the population BTW…this isn’t something being imposed on them, but something they choose, seemingly). There is, as usual, a [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Iraq) article on this: > [@](#): > > Historical background > See also: Women in Islam > > To appreciate women’s achievements in this society, it is important to look at the history of their position in the society and how wars and successions in dynasties and governments have affected women’s roles. > > During the seventh century the lamas as a part of their conquest were fighting the Persians, who were defeated. As Doreen Ingrams, the author of The Awakened: Women in Iraq, noticed, “Arab women [were] shown in the mural tending the wounded or burying the dead. They [were] wearing black clothes similar in design to those worn by the soldiers, however, are in white. In the early days of Islam [women] were considered to be ‘partners’ both in war and in peace” (p. 20). It was a time when women’s help was needed. In particular, a woman called Amina bint Qais “at the age of seventeen was the youngest woman to lead a medical team in one of these early battles.[1]:21 After their victory, the Arabs that began ruling Mesopotamia named that country Iraq. In 750 AD, during the Abbasid Caliphate, women “became renowned for their brains as well as their beauty” (p. 22). However, even then many girls were being captured as slaves. Despite that fact, “many of the well-known women of the time were slave girls who had been trained from childhood in music, dancing and poetry. Another feminine figure to be remembered for her achievements was Tawaddud, “a slave girl who was said to have been bought at great cost by Haroun al Rasid because she had passed her examinations by the most eminent scholars in astronomy, medicine, law, philosophy, music, history, Arabic grammar, literature, theology and chess” (p. 23). Moreover, among the most prominent feminine figures was Shuhda who was known as “the Scholar” or “the Pride of Women” during the twelfth century in Baghdad. Despite the recognition of women’s aptitudes during the Abbasid dynasty, all these were reversed in 1258 when Baghdad was attacked by the Mongols. After that, the city of Baghdad was “given over to an orgy of massacre, plunder and devastation […]”.[2] With the departure of the Mongols a succession of Persian rivalries followed until 1553, when the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman captured Baghdad and its provinces, which became parts of the Turkish empire.[1]:25 > > The Turks “had inflexible rules concerning women. They enforced the segregation of the sexes, the education of girls was limited and any importance attached to women was generally attributable to the positions held by their husbands”. > > However, all these ended with the fall of the Turks. Britain was given the Mandate for administering Iraq by the League of Nations and therefore a new era began in Iraq under British rule. In the 1920s there was a “major uprising where women took part” (p. 27). In 1932, Iraq was declared independent and in 1958 was declared a Republic as a member of the League of Nations. As Doreen Ingrams argues, instability was dominating the region until 1968 when “the Ba’ath Party took control over the President Al Bakr and Iraq began to enjoy a period of stability” (28). Saddam Hussein succeeded Al Bakr as President in 1979. > [@](#): > > Education > Further information: Education in Iraq > Iraqi schoolgirls > > Iraq established an education system in 1921 and by the 1970s education became public and free at all levels.[3] This changed in the 1990s when the first Gulf War ensued and economic sanctions caused educational institutions to rapidly deteriorate. > > The gender gap with regard to Iraq’s literacy rate is narrowing. Overall, 26% of Iraqi women are illiterate, and 11% of Iraqi men. For youth aged 15–24 years, the literacy rate is 80% for young women, and 85% for young men.[4] Girls are less likely than male students to continue their education beyond the primary level, and their enrollment numbers drop sharply after that. Education levels attained by Iraqi women and men in 2007 were:[5] > [@](#): > > Women’s rights > An Iraqi girl, center, runs to show her identification card to members of the 7th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Federal Police Division so she may receive a backpack filled with school supplies April 14, 2011, 2011, during 110412-A-WI226-084.jpg > > Women’s social status and rights in Iraq have been violated and thrown aside for many years. Making up 65% of the Iraqi population, women are a vital part of the culture.[6] They make up 70% of the agricultural workforce[7] > > With an estimated population of 22,675,617, Iraq is a male dominated society.[8] Although there are many classes and castes within the culture, the official language of Iraq is Arabic and Kurdish. On International Women’s Day, 8 March 2011, a coalition of 17 Iraqi women’s rights groups formed the National Network to Combat Violence Against Women in Iraq.[9] > > The Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) is another Non-governmental organization committed to the defense of women’s rights in Iraq. It has been very active in Iraq for several years, with thousands of members, and it is the Iraqi women’s rights organization with the largest international profile. It was founded in June 2003 by Yanar Mohammed, Nasik Ahmad and Nadia Mahmood. It defends full social equality between women and men and secularism, and fights against Islamic fundamentalism and the American occupation of Iraq. Its president is Yanar Mohammed. > > OWFI originated with the Organisation indépendante des femmes, active in Kurdistan from 1992 to 2003 despite government and religious oppression, and the Coalition de défense des droits des femmes irakiennes, founded in 1998 by Iraqi women in exile. OWFI concentrates its activities on the fight against sharia law, against abduction and murder of women and against honour killings. Thousands of members strong, it has at its disposal a network of support from outside Iraq, notably from the United States. It also has members in Great Britain, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. Its activists and its directors have many times been the object of death threats from Islamic organizations. > > The circumstances resulting from the Gulf War and then the Kurdish uprising in Iraq in 1991, gave the Kurdish region of Iraq an essentially autonomous situation for a period, despite the conflicts between zones controlled by the largest nationalist parties. This allowed the development of some claims to women’s rights, which in turn influenced some of the women who would become active in founding OWFI. > > The founding statement of OWFI contains a mandate in six points : > > ``` > To put in place a humanist law founded on equality and the assurance of the greatest freedom for women, and to abolish all forms of discriminatory laws; > To separate religion from the government and education; > To put an end to all forms of violence against women and honour killings, and to push for punishment for the murderers of women; > To abolish mandatory wearing of veils, the veil for children and to protect freedom of dress; > To put in place the equal participation of women and men in all social, economic, administrative and political spheres, at every level; > To abolish gender segregation in schools at all levels. > > ``` > > [10] > > Some militant women’s rights advocates in Iraq, who seek to establish a dialogue with Islamist women, maintain a distance from the radical feminism and secularism of OWFI.[11] > [@](#): > > Sharia law > Seldom worn at home by young urban women, the wearing of the black veil has expanded rapidly in Iraq under pressure from Islamists since 2003. > > Islam is the official religion of Iraq with about 97% of the population practice this religion.[12] > > On January 29, 2004, the interim Iraqi government, supported by the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and despite the strong opposition of the American Administrator Paul Bremer, launched Resolution 137 which introduced sharia law in the “law on personal civil status”, which since 1958 established rights and freedoms for Iraqi women. This resolution permitted very different interpretations from the law of 1958 on the part of religious communities. It opened an additional breach in the civil law and risked exacerbating inter-religious tensions in Iraq.[13] In a statement, OWFI affirmed : > > ``` > Iraq is a secular society. Women and men in Iraq never imagined that they would defeat Baaist Fascism only to have it replaced with an Islamic dictatorship.[14] > > ``` > > Despite its reputation for being relatively secular, sharia law was never totally absent from Iraq before 2003. The “law on personal civil status” provided that, in the case that it was not expressly forbidden in the law, it would be sharia law that would prevail.[15] A coalition of 85 women’s organizations, through means of international communication, launched a protest movement.[15] One month later, on January 29, 2004, the resolution was withdrawn.[16] > > Beginning in September 2004, OWFI launched a new campaign against the forced wearing of the veil being enforced by Islamic militias, notably in the universities.[17] > > In 2005, there was once again debate over the new constitution, which considered islam as one of the sources of Iraqi law. > > ``` > The outline of the constitution proposes, in article 14, the repeal of existing law and to refer merely to family law, in concordance with Islamic sharia law and other religious codes in Iraq. In other words, it makes women vulnerable to all forms of inequality and social discrimination. and makes them second class citizens, lesser human beings > > ``` > > writes Yanar Mohammed[18] For the same reasons, OWFI denounced the 2005 elections, dominates by parties hostile to women’s rights.[19] > > Women’s groups also denounce “pleasure marriages”, based on a practise commonly believed to be founded on Islamic law, which was revived during the occupation of Iraq: it authorizes a man to marry a woman, through a money gift, for a determined period of time. In most cases, groups such as OWFI charge, it provides a legal cover for prostitution. [20] > [@](#): > > Abuse of women since the invasion > > Many people feel it is due to the ongoing terror wrought in this land that brings so much oppression to women. Prior to the arrival of forces in Iraq in 1991, Iraqi women were free to wear whatever they liked and go wherever the chose.[51]:105-107 The Iraqi constitution of 1970 gave women equality and liberty in the Muslim world, but since the invasion, women’s rights have fallen to the lowest in Iraqi history.[51]:105-107 > > Since the invasion in 2003 “Iraqi women have been brutally attacked, kidnapped and intimidated from participating in the Iraqi society”.[52] Yanar Mohammed, an Iraqi feminist, “asserts unequivocally that war and occupation have cost Iraqi women their legal standing and their everyday freedom of dress and movement”.[53] She continues by arguing that “The first losers in all these were women”.[53] > > Arising from their fear of being raped and harassed, women have to wear not only the veil, but must also to wear the black dress in order not to attract attention. In an online edition of Guardian, the reporter Mark Lattiner reports that despite promises and hopes given to the Iraqi population that their lives were going to change, Iraqi women’s lives “have become immeasurably worse, with rapes, burnings and murders [now] as a daily occurrence.”[54] Is that more or less what you were looking for? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baathism-please-explain/738505/3 "2015-11-25T04:23:48Z")
The Ba’ath Party in Syria was founded by the Syrian philosopher Michel Aflaq, a Greek Orthodox Christian and proponent of Arab nationalism, along with a fellow Syrian politician Salah al-Din Bitar. The [Ba’athist movement](http://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/faq/baath-party-syria) promotes “secular Arab nationalism, Arab socialism, pan-Arabism, and militarism”. The late Hafez al-Assad, who seized power in Syria in a military coup in 1970, declared the Ba’ath party “the leader of state and society”, although he did constitutionally establish that the President of the state must be a Muslim. His son and successor Bashar al-Assad is the regional secretary of the Syrian branch of the Ba’ath Party. The Iraqi wing of the Ba’athists entered on their long period of dominance in Iraq under Saddam Hussein in 1968. So it’s not surprising that anti-secularism is a core feature of Islamist insurgency in Iraq and Syria. The more nationalist/secularist/socialist Ba’ath ideology facilitated easier coexistence for Muslims and non-Muslims, along with more openness to modernist ideas such as rights for women, etc. But that meant that modernist ideas in the eyes of many Syrian and Iraqi Muslims became tainted by association with all the oppression and tyranny inflicted by Ba’athist dictatorships. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baathism-please-explain/738505/4 "2015-11-25T04:33:06Z")
[This perspective from a Great Debates thread of 2002](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-150808.html) may be of interest. > [@](#): > > > [@tracer](#): > > > > Of all the arab nations, Iraq is probably the most secular and (for want of a better word) progressive. Islamic religious sentiment is not nearly as strong in Iraq as it is in Iran or Saudi Arabia, either at the popular level or at the government level. > > > > Sure, Iraq has a despot at the helm right now who is not above using Islamic jingoism to achieve his ends […] > > > [@istara](#): > > > > […] Iraq is very secular. Whether it will remain that way if Saddam is toppled and the majority Shiaa take over remains to be seen. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baathism-please-explain/738505/5 "2015-11-25T04:43:23Z")
Iran was also more secular under the Shah. [Similar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_rights_movement_in_Iran) forces and dynamic to what happened in Iraq. > [@](#): > > 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] ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baathism-please-explain/738505/6 "2015-11-25T13:21:26Z")
There’s some good stuff there XT thanks. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baathism-please-explain/738505/7 "2015-11-25T13:40:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Reza Shah era (1925–1941)… > > …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] WikiP says > [@](#): > > Along with the modernization of the nation, Reza Shah was the ruler during the time of the Women’s Awakening (1936–1941). This movement sought the elimination of the [chador](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chador) from Iranian working society. Supporters held that the veil impeded physical exercise and the ability of women to enter society and contribute to the progress of the nation. This move met opposition from the religious establishment. In one instance in 1935 Reza Shah ordered his soldiers to shoot at a crowd of unarmed demonstrators who were peacefully protesting against obligatory Western dress in Mashhad.[[38]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Shah#cite_note-38) The unveiling issue and the Women’s Awakening are linked to the Marriage Law of 1931 and the [Second Congress of Eastern Women in Tehran](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_rights_movement_in_Iran) in 1932. France struggles to ban religious clothing even now. I get the impression that the many in the West think the Middle East has always been entirely populated by medieval hillbilly rugheads forcing their women into chadors, because the news is dominated by the Taliban and ISIS, which isn’t actually the case and modernism had considerable foothold in many places. I had absolutely no idea about the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. This action gets absolutely no attention in British culture. No documentaries, no war films, nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baathism-please-explain/738505/8 "2015-11-25T14:10:57Z")
Shah or no shah, chador or no chador, Iranian women are a goddamned juggernaut of progress and learning. Iranian “literacy rate for women at age groups 15-19 to 25-29” increased dramatically between 1966 and 1996, i.e. under both the Shah, Khomeini and Khamenei ([source](http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/completingfertility/2RevisedABBASIpaper.PDF)). Indeed, there are now more women studying at Iranian universities than there are men: > [@](#): > > In 1998, around 52 per cent of university candidates who were admitted to government universities were girls. The figure increased to 57 per cent in 1999, to around 60 per cent in 2000, and then to around 62 percent in 2001. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baathism-please-explain/738505/9 "2015-11-25T14:51:33Z")
> [@Steken](#): > > Shah or no shah, chador or no chador, Iranian women are a goddamned juggernaut of progress and learning. > > Iranian “literacy rate for women at age groups 15-19 to 25-29” increased dramatically between 1966 and 1996, i.e. under both the Shah, Khomeini and Khamenei ([source](http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/completingfertility/2RevisedABBASIpaper.PDF)). > > Indeed, there are now more women studying at Iranian universities than there are men: That goes against the stereotype of Islamic societies - although obviously it’s not by itself a sign of social equality. Could be part of a global trend, lemme see… [http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/women-higher-education.aspx](http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/women-higher-education.aspx) > [@](#): > > \*\*Do these trends suggest a link between women’s participation and national wealth? \*\* > > * * * > > Overall, we find that women are more likely to pursue tertiary education in countries with higher levels of national wealth. In most wealthy countries, female students clearly outnumber men at the tertiary level. In Iceland, there are almost twice as many women enrolled in tertiary education as men. In the United States and the Russian Federation, there are about 129 and 126 female students for every 100 male students, respectively. A similar pattern is found in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela. > > By comparison, in countries such as Ethiopia, Eritrea, Guinea and Niger – where the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is as low as PPP$3,000 or below – there are fewer than 35 female tertiary students for every 100 male students. > > In fact, there are only seven places in the world where we find equal gross enrolment ratio for women and men: Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Mexico, Swaziland and Switzerland. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baathism-please-explain/738505/10 "2015-11-26T23:11:57Z")
On paper, their platform actually sounds quite progressive, but they didn’t put in safeguards to prevent a dictator from seizing power and bringing in a reign of terror. In that sense, they got what they deserved. The grapes of Ba’ath… ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baathism-please-explain/738505/11 "2015-12-01T23:29:31Z")
> [@Steken](#): > > Shah or no shah, chador or no chador, Iranian women are a goddamned juggernaut of progress and learning. > > Iranian “literacy rate for women at age groups 15-19 to 25-29” increased dramatically between 1966 and 1996, i.e. under both the Shah, Khomeini and Khamenei ([source](http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/completingfertility/2RevisedABBASIpaper.PDF)). > > Indeed, there are now more women studying at Iranian universities than there are men: That is awesome, but really this is not really strange at all. In many countries women outnumber men in higher education. To use a regional example, Saudi Arabia. [https://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/education/higher\_education.aspx](https://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/education/higher_education.aspx) So my point is this is not unique to Iran and Iranian women.