Iranian Society - Women in Persian Culture

Women in Persian Culture

In Iran, religion has been a major source of power that has governed the way that women have been able to live their lives. There is a common theme of subordination that comes from the fact that religion has placed strict rules on the actions of women in Iran. While Sharia dictates the way that women are able to act in different Muslim countries, the people if Iran—especially the women—have a negative attitude toward veiling, dating, women’s dress code, and the general view on women Islam holds.

More recently, however, women have been taking more and more control of their lives. In modern Iran—post-revolutionary Iran—while it still is illegal for women to break dress code, there is a trend of young women that boldly walk around in public wearing makeup, tight coats (mãntos), brightly covered headscarves—with a lot of hair showing—and not get arrested. By disobeying dress code flagrantly, women in Iran are making a statement—one that is so powerful that one can almost see a “sexual revolution” sweeping over Iran. This revolution is supported by many parents of young women in Iran because of their being against the ideologies of the Islamic Republic. In this sense, it would seem as though not only are the young women of Iran taking control of their lives, but so too is the older generation of Iranians that have been oppressed by the Islamic Republic and Islamic law.