Women of Iran and their Dress.

Women Suffrage - A Comparative Perspective
By Negar Niknam

There has been a continuous struggle between defenders of Islam and critics upon women issues. Advocators of Islamic rights claim that the law of creation has so ordained that both man and woman seek, and are interested in each other. But their relationship is not of that nature which they have with other possessions; that relationship emerges from selfishness. They want to possess things for their own use, and look on them as the means of their comfort. But, the relationship between man and woman means that each one of them wants the comfort and happiness of the other, and enjoys making sacrifices for the sake of the other. (Motaharri 199u) The idea stands against European point of view that want to compare genders, since in Islamic thoughts the nature of creation of man and woman is as different that makes any comparison impossible. One can claim that there’s now an almost universally held belief that most women in Islamic societies face wretched persecution and that Islam itself is wholly to blame. Joshua Holland, as a denial of this idea believes that there is no empirical data to suggest that an Islamic majority itself correlates with the subordination of women better than other co-variables like economic development, women’s ability to serve in government, a political culture that values the rule of law or access to higher education. (2008) However, the matter of women’s suffrage seems quite absent from academic works of these countries. In many countries in the region, women’s right to vote, to acquire an identity card or passport, to marry, to work, or to travel is granted only with the consent of a spouse or other male family member. Most of the countries -with the exception of Iran, Tunisia, Israel, and to a limited extent Egypt- have permitted only fathers to pass citizenship on to their children.

Women married to non-nationals are denied this fundamental right. One significant point we should take into account is that the social and cultural situations of these countries should not be considered as the same as well as their women’s social situations. There is a great distinction -which is ignored in most cases, between these people naming Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Persians, Afghans, Pakistani, etc. all these names connote to a specific culture and attitude toward women, e.g. in Saudi Arabia, one of the most male-dominant countries, there is No suffrage for women. In 2003, 300 Saudi women signed a petition calling on the country’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Abdullah, to recognize their legal and civil rights. The first local elections ever held in the country occurred in 2005. Women were not given the right to vote or to stand for election. On the contrary, Turkey has provided a better situation for women and granted women to vote in the same time of many pioneer countries. Burcak Keskin writes that Turkish women entered parliament in 1934 but the number of female MPs has decreased in time. In the early Republic, Ataturk was facing accusations of dictatorship. In order to eliminate this undemocratic image, women’s suffrage was granted in 1934. During the one-party regime women had secured their place in the parliament. (Keskin 1997) in Pakistan, as an example, full suffrage for women was introduced in national election in 1956. So my point, besides introducing some historical facts about voting rights in Middle East was that the different cultural and social backgrounds of these regional countries should make us to be more precise about the various ethnicities and people live there. In the following part, the condition of women’s suffrage in Iran, as a country located in this region will be examined.

• Women in Iran

First there is a need to present some snapshot about Iranian women movement during last century. Women’s NGOs and movement were very active in Tehran and other major cities during 1920-1930. These NGOs finance schools, health clinics for women and cultural activities. In 1934, following secular ideological plans, Reza Shah banned the veil. Women’s suffrage became a burning issue in Iran during the 1940s and early 1950s. Mossadeq, Iran’s popular prime minister at that time, was then in the midst of a fight with the United States and England over nationalization of Iran’s oil industry. But it was Mossadeq’s social reforms, including his support for women’s suffrage that contributed to the break up of his coalition from within when the leading clerics withdrew their support. (Afary 2004) ‘In 1963, the Shah granted female suffrage and soon after women were elected to the Majlis (the parliament) and the upper house, and appointed as judges and ministers in the cabinet. In 1967 Iranian family law was also reformed to improve the position of women in Iranian society which was the most progressive family law in the Middle East. After granting some of these equal rights legislation in the 70s, all these gains were replaced when the revolutionary government came to power in 1979. Women were eliminated from all decision-making positions within the government, dress requirements were enforced, and women’s organizations were declared corrupt and disbanded.

The future looks brighter today. A growing urban, middle class is making some progress by situating women’s rights within the cultural framework of Iran, and noting that in order to modernize, Iran must improve the status of women. But governmental authorities try to give clear statistics over women participation in policy and in the society. In Chronology of Events Regarding Women in Iran since the Revolution of 1979, they have declared many important dates e.g. four women are elected to the First Majles (1980-1984. These female Majles representatives were elected for ideological reasons. Even though they lack higher education, they are proficient in the Quran and religious matters. (Ghetanchi 2000) Shirin Ebadi, winner of the peace Nobel in 2003 believes that laws in Iran institutionalize prejudice and support men. The law looks down on Iranian women - literally with a male face. Since the 1979 Revolution Iranian women have been forbidden from serving as judges. In Iran a woman’s evidence in court is worth half that of a man and some similar unjust laws. (2008) I have to point to current great movement of Iranian women in the name of ‘Campaign for Equality’ by which many women activists and feminists try to get a million signatures on a petition calling for an end to discriminatory laws.

Bahrain and Iran - Women’s Dress

By Kay ChaudhriAs I planned my Iranian trip, I remembered the dress restrictions inaugurated by Khomeini in 1979 and imposed by harsh treatment of women who protested. With this in mind, I borrowed an abaya with sleeves and packed several scarves to cover my head. Although I saw similar garments in rural provinces, I was out of step in the cities, where the women have largely abandoned the ankle-length chador (abaya). The new style is a knee-length, fitted coat-dress worn over pants. Far from shapeless, this manteau is often cinched with a wide belt, producing a rather modern and stylish look.

Other restrictions enforced in the early Khomeini years are also gone. Make-up is universal, and although a scarf is required by law, inches of hair show on all women except those in official positions who wear a uniform black scarf that fits smoothly around the oval of their face. No faces are veiled.

I eventually abandoned my efforts to dress inconspicuously. When I did not wear my borrowed abaya in the cities, I was left with my usual cotton pants and long sleeved shirts. Provided my head was covered, these were perfectly acceptable by Iranian law, but the light colors I normally wear drew attention in a society where women universally wear dark colors. Under a navy blue manteau, an Iranian college girl might wear blue jeans, but the overall effect is dark.

This is not true for school girls for whom pastels are the rule. I saw many girls, aged perhaps 7 to 14, as they left school or were on their way home and all wore pants covered by a knee length tunic with a head covering of the same color. Each school had its distinctive color. Pale blue and pink seemed to be popular choices. Are light colors considered suitable only for children, with darker colors indicating maturity? I could only observe.

Muslim women in all countries dress in compliance to the Islamic mandate that their bodies be covered from neck to ankles. Although Bahrain and Iran are close geographically, women dress quite differently. My tentative conclusion, based on limited time in these two countries, is that women’s dress in the Middle East is diverse and evolving. My tentative conclusion, based on limited time in these two countries, is that women’s dress in the Middle East is diverse and evolving. Read More Stories about Iranian Girls Dress.

By Kay Chaudhri

When I lived in Bahrain in the late 1970s and through the 1980s, I thought Muslim women were steadily evolving away from the covered heads and black cloaks (abayas) of earlier decades. I almost never saw someone with a veil over her face.

True, the Khomeini Revolution forced Iranian women back into black covering from head to foot, but even in Iran, faces-without the forbidden makeup-were unveiled.

When I returned to Bahrain in 2006, after 16 years away, I found the changes in dress startling. Not more modern, as I would have predicted in the 80s, but distinctly more traditional. In the malls, almost all women wore the ankle length black abaya, but its style had changed. No longer a cape that covered the head and extended over the body, the abaya had transitioned to a black, ankle-length dress, supplemented by a black head covering that often included a veil over the face.

Although former students told me that many of the veiled women were from Saudi Arabia, now easily accessible over the causeway that connected the two countries, many Bahrainis dressed the same. “Why the change?” I asked in every conversation.

Diverse explanations were proposed, but all centered on the fact that Muslims felt their faith to be threatened, and dress became a way of affirming their Muslim identity.

Some suggested that the Khomeini Revolution, the Afghan-Soviet conflict, or the Gulf War of 1990 had triggered the concern. Others proposed that the changing role of women, with much greater involvement in higher education and employment, led them to choose conservative dress to demonstrate that a change in life style was not a rejection of the faith.

I returned in 2009 wondering if the trend toward traditional dress had intensified. It had not. Perhaps not enough time has passed for a definite conclusion, but my impression is that fewer women veil their faces and the abaya has become a more fashionable outer covering. The cover picture for my book was taken this year and although most of the girls wear an abaya, it is not the traditional sleeveless cape. Wide, embroidered sleeves are clearly visible. Most of the women wear a black scarf over their hair but in the background are several with uncovered heads and no abaya. This is also what I observed on the street and shops.

Unlike Iran or Saudi Arabia, Bahrain has no laws regulating women’s dress. The pressure to conform to what others are wearing, felt by women everywhere, has a major role in determining dress in Bahrain. Probably the choices are more complex there because of the tension between religiously backed tradition and newer trends that assert a changed role for women.Get More details about Iranian Women Dress.