October 16, 2003
Awakened Woman's Circle is working for peace
Sojourn in Iran
A surprise invitation turns up -- more surprises
by Angela Cuevas
In May I was chosen as an observer in a forum of Islamic women, organized by one of the 15-odd women's institutes in Tehran. I was asked to confirm my attendance without delay. What most surprised me, though, was that the invitation had been sent by a man. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind and my family's remonstrations only served to fuel my doubts. Was not Iran after all a fundamentalist Islamic state where men ruled supreme? Perhaps I was being lured into some sort of slave trade, and would wind up at the mercy of some misogynist mullah.
I was not to regret sending my acceptance at once. Nor did I flinch at the long list of recommendations that accompanied my visa application. In fact, the most complicated part of all had to do with the selection of a proper wardrobe. I was to bare only my face, hands and feet. No bust line or short sleeves, please. Long, loose-fitting gowns to below the knee would be quite appropriate, so as to disguise any semblance of femininity. My hair should also be covered, lest it prove too great a provocation for the Iranian male.
But Iran soon disabused me of my misconceptions. Contrary to what I would have thought, Iranian women share fully in the political life of their country. In fact, in every city there is a government office (of ministerial status) to safeguard the empowerment of women, their equality with men in the economic and professional spheres, and their participation in the decision-making process. Yet another department tends to their social well being, with special attention to the welfare of the most disadvantaged. This office oversees matters of women's employment, health, education and housing.
In Iran, women are found in all branches of medicine, even urology. In fact, the profession of gynecology is by law open only to women. When the Shah was deposed in 1973, and religious fundamentalism superceded Marxism, Iranian women found themselves in a dire predicament. They had been ordered to cover their faces with veils, and were in general distanced from the affairs of men. Nonetheless, they were able to negotiate an agreement with the mullahs. Since women had been placed off limits, they insisted that everything having to do with their minds and bodies should thenceforth be restricted to those of their own gender. Thus in Iran, medicine and other health-related fields are largely women's occupations. Similarly, women are also in charge of beauty salons, fashion houses, schools and segregated universities. One thus finds that the level of female unemployment is roughly at a par with that of men &endash;- something seldom seen in the West.
In just one of the many Iranian universities, there are 40 women taking master's degrees in physics &endash;- a discipline that even in the West is largely male-dominated. This phenomenon of female empowerment &endash;- largely unknown in the West &endash;- is presently being studied by a good number of researchers, both male and female. In part, it helps to explain the proliferation of women's institutes throughout Iran. It is a dynamic phenomenon, however &endash;- a slow and ongoing process that entails the gradual lifting of Sharia law and the progressive improvement of the status of women in Iran. The offices of women's empowerment are already imbued with the status of ministries, and their budgets far surpass those of the various women's rights departments one finds in the West. And, since marriages are arranged and dalliances are punishable by death, one finds no exchange of sexual favors for political office or material gain, as we have become accustomed to seeing in the West. Cases like that of President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky would be unthinkable in Iran.
At a dinner sponsored by one of Teheran's lady mayors and her cabinet, I was taken aback by their cultural attainments. They all spoke three or four languages, and had traveled the world over. Equally surprising was the intellectual acumen of the participants of a seminar I attended. Girls of barely 20 came forth with serious and well-reasoned philosophical proposals &endash;- belying and transcending the modesty of their garb, which &endash;- in keeping with the tenets of "jihab" &endash;- covered them from head to toe.
No one doubts that the role assigned to woman by the Koran is subservient in nature, although this too depends upon the interpretation of Islam. Before marriage, a woman may specify by contract the rights to which she aspires, such as the right to study, to work, to file for divorce, to assume custody of the children, to earn money and to manage her assets. Of course, women owe obedience to their husbands and may in theory be punished for their transgressions. And yet, among the Iranian couples I came to know I was left with the distinct impression that the woman was the one who held the reins of power. As for the question of punishment for transgressions, the Ayatollah our discussion group consulted made it quite clear that family violence is a serious offense. Just as everywhere else, in Iran one finds a great many single women raising their children without the father's presence. But paternal support is compulsory. And, since there is no promiscuity, there is no question of each child's paternity. The child was born in wedlock.
A man's economic standing, however, is measured by the number of women he is able to support. Sharia law allows him to have four wives -- as long as he gives each one a mansion, an automobile and domestic servants. But in middle class families both the husband and wife work and there is seldom money for more than one wife. Among the poor, multiple wives are even less common. A rather different situation than what we find in our own society, where the poorest men are precisely the ones with the greatest number of women and children. Sharia law also allows for a "mutah", or temporary contract between a man and a woman. Such a contract -- rescindable by mutual consent -- may last only a few months, days, or even hours.
Its advances notwithstanding, Iran is still an oil-dependent third-world nation that has engendered a population in which there is both extreme wealth and extreme poverty. Thus it is not at all uncommon to see the wealthy in their Rolls Royce, affluent youngsters on big motorbikes, mothers accompanied by their nannies and luxurious shopping centers as well as depressing slums, beggars and urchins (although there are no girls among them). It is also rather odd that the beggars ask alms only from men &endash;- perhaps believing that women have no money of their own. In this land of age-old customs, women seem to have found a way to neutralize the effects of discrimination and &endash;- with uncanny skill &endash;- a way to gain entrance to the highest echelons of political, social and professional life.
Angela Cuevas is a Colombian attorney who works hard
on behalf of women. She is also a member of the Gift
Paradigm group, women committed to developing a feminist
alternative to the exchange economy.