Impact of Feminist Movements on the Social, Cultural, Economic, Political, Legal Conditions in Iran - Part I

Islamic Republic of Iran

· Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, formally known as Persia in West.

· Shi'a Islam is the official state religion and Persian the official language.

· A Rise of modernization was in the late nineteenth century.

· In 1921, Reza Shah staged a coup.

· He was a supporter of modernization.

· Reza Shah initiated the development of modern industry, railroads, and establishment of a national education system.

· Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ruled autocratically, with strong support from the US and UK. Shah further modernized Iranian industry, but simultaneously crushed all forms of political opposition with his intelligence agency, SAVAK.

· Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became an active critic of the Shah's White Revolution and publicly denounced the government.

Human Rights in Iran

· The violation of human rights by the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to be significant, despite many efforts by Iranian human right activists, writers, NGOs and some political parties.

· Human right in Iran regularly faces the issues of governmental impunity, restricted freedom of speech, and gender inequality.

Islamic Feminism

· The term Islamic feminism began to be visible in the 1990s in various global locations.

· Iranian scholars Afsanay Najmabadeh and Zeba Mer-Hussaini explained the rise and use of the term Islamic feminism in Iran by women writing in the Teheran women's journal Zanan in 1992.

· Islamic feminism is clearly state feminism, or a part of fundamentalist and religious movement, and according to this trend, women’s identification with religious movements help Muslim women’s emancipation.

· It is true that after the Islamic revolution in Iran, women have been more active in political and social life.