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WOMEN AND POLITICS IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN This page intentionally left blank WOMEN AND POLITICS IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN ACTION AND REACTION Sanam Vakil Th e Continuum International Publishing Group 80 Maiden Lane, Suite 704, New York, NY 10038 Th e Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX www.continuumbooks.com © Sanam Vakil, 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the permission of the publishers. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Vakil, Sanam. Women and politics in the Islamic republic of Iran : action and reaction / Sanam Vakil. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-4411-9734-4 (hardcover: alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-4411-9734-6 (hardcover: alk. paper) 1. Women–Political activity–Iran. 2. Women political activists–Iran. 3. Iran–Politics and government–1979-1997. 4. Iran–Politics and government–1997– I. Title. HQ1236.5.I7V35 2011 320.955082–dc22 2010034886 ISBN: 978-1-4411-9734-4 (HB) Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India Printed and bound in the United States of America To Iran’s empowering women This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Tables ix Acknowledgments x Glossary xii To My Sister by Forough Farrokhzad xv Chapter 1 Introduction: A Female Awakening Th rough a Century of Struggle 1 Chapter 2 Th e Revolutionary Century Th rough the Eyes and Lives of Women 23 Chapter 3 Khomeini: Th e Paradox and Politics of Religion 44 Chapter 4 Defi ning and Redefi ning Activist Women 65 Gender Politics Th rough the Prism of Veiling 66 Traditionalists 75 Secularists 81 Islamists 82 Female Collaboration 88 Chapter 5 Rafsanjani: Th e Road to Reform 99 Education 109 Labor 112 Legal Rights and Interpretations 116 Press 119 Sports Initiatives 123 Political Participation 123 Non-Governmental Organizations 126 vii viii CONTENTS Chapter 6 Khatami: Th e Momentum and Challenge of Reform 135 Parliament and Party Politics 146 Communication and Media 150 Th e Student Network 153 Th e Ebadi Eff ect 156 Shift ing Ground and Turning Corners 157 Chapter 7 Ahmadinejad: Claim Making and Stagnating Reform 168 Strategy Shift s—Th e One Million Signatures Campaign 176 State Backlash 185 Chapter 8 Th e Circles of Confrontation, Conciliation, and Contradiction 198 Th e 2009 Presidential Election: Everything Green and the Women In Between 199 Selected Bibliography 216 Appendix: H ighlights of the Gains and Losses in Women’s Activism, 1960–2010 240 Index 243 Tables Table 5.1 P ercentage of female students at diff erent educational levels, 1978–2006 110 Table 5.2 Population growth, 1978–2008 113 Table 5.3 P ercentage of formal female labor participation, 1978–2006 115 Table 5.4 Percentage of female journalists, 1971–2006 120 Table 5.5 Percentage of women elected to the Iranian parliament, 1963–2008 125 Table 5.6 Female candidacy for parliamentary elections 1979–2008 125 ix