Women and the Shii Ulama in Iran

Abstract

existed at all times and Iran from ancient times to the present day is no exception to this reality. The degree of inequality, however, has varied according to time, type of society and its reigning ideology. Zoroastrianism, the religion of ancient Iranians, accorded women an honorable position both in its mythology and in practice. The Arab conquest of Iran in the seventh century A.D. and the importation of Islam into the country had the effect of eliminating some of the existing rights and customs. After the declaration of Shiism by the Safavids in the sixteenth century, as the official religion of Iran, the position of women changed noticeably. Parallel with the growing orthodoxy of the Safavids a greater seclusion of women took place. This seclusion continued under the Qajars until in the nineteenth century, under the influence of the West, lonely voices began to be heard in defense of women's rights. These voices included both women and men. The first serious steps towards the emancipation of women in Iran were taken by the two Pahlavi rulers. In his attempts to modernize the country Reza Shah established public schools for girls and officially banned the veil in 1936. His son, the late Shah, as part of his wide-ranging reforms, called the White Revolution, introduced more changes such as the right to vote and to be elected to Parliament. Women's organizations under the leadership of Princess Ashraf Pahlavi became progressively more active. In 1967, the Family Protection Law was passed giving amongst other things, the right to women to initiate divorce proceedings. This law was further amended in 1975 to deal with questions of custody of children and alimony. The interesting phenomena about these reforms was that they started encompassing a large segment of the population and were not limited to only one class. The effect of the reigning ideology was such that even those whom it did not encompass aspired for their daughters to enter the fold. There were girls' schools even in remote rural areas. The reforms of the Pahlavis concerning women were much publicized and written about. The emancipated and educated women of Iran were the symbols of Iran's Westernization and modernization. In the context of this paper it is sufficient to say that on the eve of the Islamic Revolution there were women ministers, deputy ministers, senators, Members of Parliament, mayors, provincial office-holders, members of the armed forces and the police, diplomats, judges, lawyers, directors-general and professors throughout the country. The present situation of women in Iran is linked to the government's ideology. This ideology claims to stem from the Koran and various