Revolution, Religion, and Gender Politics: Iran and Afghanistan Compared

Abstract

This article compares the trajectory of gender politics and religiopolitics in revolutionary Afghanistan and revolutionary Iran since the late 1970s, and draws attention to the gendered nature of political and cultural projects. Whereas the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan began as a secular regime that sought to extend women's rights, the Islamic Republic of Iran was a religious regime that worked to circumscribe women's roles. In the 1990s, the Islamic Republic of Iran has become less rigid and more secular in its approach to social and economic issues while Afghanistan has become a captive of religious fanaticism. Women have increased their visibility and public participation in the Islamic Republic of Iran; in contrast, women have become all but invisible in Afghanistan. This article explains the divergent and unintended outcomes in terms of tribal patriarchy and underdevelopment in Afghanistan versus Islamic modernism and socioeconomic development in Iran.