Posted on 06/26/2002 10:16:57 AM PDT by robowombat
Women’s Leadership in Resistance to Fundamentalism in Iran Donna M. Hughes Women’s Studies International Forum Vol. 19 No. 6, xv-xvii, 1996
The revolution in Iran in 1979 brought to power religious fundamentalists who have created the most misogynous theocracy in the world. Since 1979 the ruling mullahs have systematically denied women’s equality to men claiming women are physically, intellectually and morally inferior to men. Women have limited access to education, employment and public activities (Parliamentary Human Rights Group, November 1994).
The most symbolic and visible sign of oppression for women in Iran is the legally required hejab, or dress code. Women, labeled seductive beings, must cover their bodies with a chador or a long, loose coat and trousers. All parts of the body, including the hair, must be covered. Only the hands and face may be exposed. "Mal-veiling" can be punished by 74 lashes. In the years since the revolution the oppression has not moderated.
In January 1993 women’s faces were banned from advertising (The Washington Times, 7 May 1995). In June 1994 police warned women against provoking "satanic desires" by smiling in the street (Agence Frances Presse, 11 June 1994). In October 1995 a new ruling prohibited women from wearing bracelets, eyeglasses and watches (Israeli Radio, 18 October 1995).
Following the revolution all women judges were dismissed and women were prohibited from attending law school (The Washington Times, 7 May 1995). According to the Iranian national census bureau in 1986 only nine percent of work force was women (Rajavi, 21 June 1996). The percentage of girls in schools and universities has continuously declined since the revolution.
The legal age for marriage was lowered to puberty, which is legally defined as nine full lunar years (i.e. eight years and nine months). However, with the permission of the girl’s guardian and "when the interests of the ward are duly observed" marriage can be contracted at an earlier age. Marriages can be also contracted for very short periods of times, enabling a legal form of prostitution. Khomeni wrote: "A woman who has not yet reached the age of nine can immediately remarry after getting a divorce." On the bases of this thousands of girls are legally sexually abused and exploited in child prostitution (personal communication, Sept. 1996). In impoverished regions in northeastern Khorassan and southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan girls are sold for $4 to $30 (Rajavi, 21 June 1996).
The penal code of the fundamentalist regime specifies stoning as the punishment for women found guilty of adultery or "illicit relations." (Israeli Radio, 2 July 1995). Virgin girls who are sentenced to death are routinely raped by agents of the regime to prevent their souls from going to heaven (Rajavi, 1 June 1996). http://216.239.35.100/search?q=cache:mgs75pQkR_QC:www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/leader.htm+execution+of+women&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
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