There is a lot to say about what’s happening in my country nowadays. I am still very confused by the post-elecion crisis which is now entering its seventh month.
The world is astonished by the presence of Iranian women in the frontline of the struggle. I believe that large part of such surprise is because of the pervasive wrong images of Iranian/Middle Eastern/Muslim women among the Westerners. The stereotypical pictures which depicts these women rarely present in public sphere let alone being in the frontline of a political struggle.
But as the history has illustrated, Iranian women have been part of the major political resistances since the beginning of the twentieth century .They participated in 1906 Constitutional Revolution besides their male counterparts. And, later on in 1979 Revolution, which overthrew the despotic regime of Mohammad Reza Shah, they showed their bravery once again. Albeit, the Islamic government in its first step toward the Islamization of the country denied their basic rights and inflicted hejab on their bodies.
During the last thirty years, women were struggling in favor of their cause severely. They have faced imprisonment, torture, and death during their struggles, but still there are very active in their path to reach democracy. Although, it is hard to tell that the current movement in Iran has any feminist/women’s rights demands, the reality is that their role in it cannot be ignored.