The Hidden Culture and Feminism in Iran

For years, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has shown no hesitation in emphasizing the priority of homemaking for women. His supporters and promoters of his ideas do not shy away from efforts to solidify this thinking in society. From the removal of feminist studies in women's studies programs to the proliferation of various magazines that, under the guise of addressing family issues, guide women towards homemaking and instilling traditional thought, these are just small examples of a widespread effort to keep women confined to the roles of wife, mother, sister, and daughter at home. Mansoureh Shojaei, a women's rights activist residing in the Netherlands, in response to the question of why the Islamic Republic is determined to eliminate and distort the concept of feminism in Iran, states: '[This issue] indicates one thing: the ruling system's conflict with women's rights. This conflict is based on many reasons. However, the key point to emphasize is the conflict they have with the language of feminist literature and specifically with the term feminist. Unfortunately, this is not only from the ruling system and laws. In society, there is even a kind of positioning [towards this term]. While we have been accustomed to hearing terms like socialism, communism, Marxism, and thousands of other isms for years without this level of sensitivity. In my opinion, one of the reasons is certainly that feminism exists and flows in the daily and real life of society, and this frightens the ruling system, which sees a culture intertwined with the daily lives of men and women. The necessity of feminism in society has never shaken the authoritarian regime as much as socialism and other isms have. Ms. Shojaei, while you claim that feminism has entered daily life, we still see images on social media of a man killing his wife with a knife on the street, saying to the camera, 'She was my wife, I had the right, I killed her.' Do you consider this a reaction to feminist thoughts in society? While Iranian women currently live under one of the most unequal laws against women. Pragmatism is a sword that the authoritarian and misogynistic regime wields over us. In my opinion, violence is more of an action than a reaction. What happens on the streets of Tehran or other cities and villages is an action arising from the laws and power that have been given to men in society, reinforcing Islamic and patriarchal laws and not being prohibitive. Here, I return to the importance of language and cultural development in promoting a modern approach. Language brings its culture with it. If we hypothetically strengthen knowledge-creating strategies through textbooks and foundational courses in high schools and universities, this literature and vocabulary has its own culture. As we have seen through alternative publications in recent years, terms like domestic violence, sexual harassment, or street harassment have entered society. This does not mean that just because we have this literature, street harassment or sexual harassment no longer occurs. Producing literature and knowledge and a language that brings its related culture helps to establish a discourse in society and work on it. In fact, language creates its own culture. Perhaps if we create a suitable equivalent for feminism, it can become prevalent in society. I hold universities, education, and teachers responsible for this. We must publicize the language of struggle through knowledge-creating strategies and its application through activists and women who strive. Which non-feminist woman do you see in society who is currently taking off her hijab, fighting for her right to divorce, or for her inheritance rights, or custody rights? These are all concepts of feminism. What is feminism? If this term has not become common, it has been due to the shortcomings of those who have designed feminist knowledge-creating strategies. Ms. Shojaei, it seems that the Islamic Republic has very consciously blocked all the points you mentioned and has specifically prevented knowledge creation and the establishment of words and the creation of this special language in Iran. We know that the women's studies program, which had been established in Iran with great efforts, not only stopped but, after being re-launched, became a field with an opposing nature to its original definition. The books taught at the elementary level and even in middle and high school completely contain a gendered perspective, and students grow up from the beginning with foundations opposed to gender equality, gender justice, or any similar term we want to define for feminism. And the media that previously had the title of feminist publications have been so pressured that they can no longer provide accurate and appropriate information. All women's special websites in Iran have been filtered, and only publications that address the role of women in the family are allowed to be published. In the meantime, let’s also give ourselves a nudge. What do you think women’s rights activists, feminists residing in Iran or even outside Iran, have lacked? What should they have done and have not done that we now face such conditions? It is better that we see this shortcoming in the area of why this shortcoming occurs. Let’s not blame it on the activists. Let’s blame it on the regime that imprisons activists for using the term feminism. Yes, in practice, the application of the word feminism in the Islamic Republic is considered a crime. Exactly. For years in Iran, institutions, NGOs, and websites that were not necessarily approved by the government produced content and knowledge and used this term at a time when social media was not freely available to everyone. Now is a good time to pay more attention to knowledge creation and language development. I am sorry that there is a huge contradiction between home education, informal education, and formal educational institutions in Iran. This contradiction has a counterproductive effect. Instead of pushing the child or the person being educated forward, it makes them aware of the hidden culture, the secret culture, and they learn hypocrisy and deceit to know how to maintain their balance in such a society. Where to use this term and where not to. This may seem like a kind of alertness, intelligence, and trickery on the surface, but ultimately it leads to a kind of pragmatism that never brings about change in society. What is happening now is that not only the term feminist, which is supposed to bring a culture with it, but no other culture will transform society either. This is a double-edged sword that ultimately harms the individual and prevents transformation in society. But let us remember that this sword is one that the authoritarian and misogynistic regime has taken and holds over us.