- FERDOWSI, Epic Poet of Iran, 940-1020A.D.

In the long and tumultuous history-of -We Iranian people, women's rights, as a significant issue, has occupied a special chapter. The role of women in the Iranian society has had its ebbs and flows, but, unfortunately, for the most part their rights have been violated. This is particularly true for the 16 years of the rile of the Islamic clerics under the philosophy of "Velayate Faqih" (Guardianship of the Jurisprudent). At no time in our history has the Iranian woman been subjected to more cruel, harsh and arbitrary treatment from the ruling clique. Their subjugation has been codified into law. The pressure is so overwhelming that the suicide rate has been climbing in recent years, especially among young women.
We are dedicating this issue of FOCUS ON IRAN to the Iranian Women, with the aim of helping focus world attention on their plight. The clerical regime must be taken to task. The Iranian Woman must stand shoulder to shoulder with the Iranian Man to face down this primitive repressive regime.
In the Iranian tradition, women have always had special respect and equal treatment. Throughout history, we come across references to the special role of women in the traditional Iranian society. According to Plutarch "Iranian women used to participate in social affairs and fight in the battlefield".

During the Sassanian Dynasty, before the Arab invasions, Iran had two Queens, Pourandokht and Azarmidokht, who ruled for brief periods. In Ferdowsi's epic Shahnameh we see another reference to yet another ruling Queen named Homa Chehrzad. The study of "Avesta" the Zoroastrian holy book indicates that women in Iranian society were to some extent equal to men and enjoyed a number of legal and social freedoms. As is described in "Din Kart" an ancient religious text, women could manage their property, could represent their husbands at court, could become judges, and could perform religious ceremonies.
The condition of women in the Islamic era experienced transformation. In this regard Elize Sanasarian explains that there are those that believe Islam is responsible for the low status of women in Iran and the Middle East, but some specialists refute this by saying that Islam has given higher status to women and has recognized the need for an active involvement of women in political and social affairs. The mistreatment of women should not be blamed on religion, but rather, on fundamentalist and radical interpretation of Islam. Hamideh Sadeghi and Ahmad Ashraf, in a paper titled "On Women In Iran" and delivered to the Aspen Institute in 1975, maintain that in the later Islamic era, women were considered `erotic creatures', imperfect and capricious. This dark view of women led to the deterioration of women's position and condition psychologically and socially, and created a situation which led to the domination of men.

The desperate condition of women continued for centuries until the twentieth century when Iran underwent modernization. The change came during the Pahlavi era in 1935, when a decree banned the wearing of the veil, and opened new vistas for women.'
In 1963 the right of suffrage was granted to the women, and in 1967 The Family Protection Law was promulgated. In 1975 this was reinforced with the Family Protection Act, which restricted polygamy.

WOMEN'S STATURE AFTER THE REVOLUTION

The fruits of centuries of struggle for equal rights have been lost since the advent of the Islamic revolution 16 years ago. In the rule of "The Jurisprudent", women have again been relegated to the dark ages. They have become second class citizens, who must cloak themselves at all times so as not to arouse men. The primitive and shameful practice of `temporary' marriage has been reinstated. The value of their witness in a court of law is half that of a man, and they cannot travel abroad without the written consent of their husband. Many women have been physically assaulted by the government sponsored thugs under the guise of not dressing in the "proper Islamic manner". Many women have been beaten, whipped, and even stoned in public on a variety of trumped-up charges. Even under-age girls and pregnant women have not been spared.

The clerics look upon women as weak inferior beings responsible for the moral decay of the society, and actively promote the separation of man and woman. The more sinister purpose of such separation is to keep the society divided in order to maximize their control on both men and women, and thus prolong the rule of a bunch of primitive, savage authoritarian imbeciles.

In traditional Iranian culture and belief, men and women are compliments of each other. United, they are creative and accomplished. Divided, the men try to subjugate the women, and the society looses half of its creative potential. A nation cannot develop normally without the active participation of women. Without the participation of women, a society will disintegrate, as evidenced by the deteriorating conditions in the Iranian society today.

OPPOSITION GROUPS AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS

While some observers criticized the Pahlavi policies on women's rights for lack of substance, it cannot be denied that the policies institutionalized a number of very positive Laws concerning women. the passage and enforcement of those Laws paved the way for women to play increasingly important roles in the society. Before the revolution, Iranian women held such posts as Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, Senators, and other responsible positions throughout the government and society.

"In 1935, in a meeting, Reza shah had said "I doubled the population of Iran, since [women's] presence in the society did not count".

Some opposition groups have actively sought to recruit women to their ranks. Some of these groups have tried not only to attract, but to convert them to their specific ideological beliefs aswell. Even though women participate in the affairs of some of these groups, their role and stature is dictated and limited by the ideological framework of that particular group. We have yetto find an organization part of whose goals would be a dedication to the promotion of leadership roles for women as women, and not merely because of ideological expediency. To use an example, we can look at an organization such as the Peoples' Mojahedin of Iran. Its appointed leader Mrs. Maryam Rajavi has her post because it is in the 'ideological' interest of the organization to have a woman leader, not because of her achievements as a female leader. To paraphrase the Mojahedin themselves, even the divorce form her first husband and subsequent marriage to Mr. Massood Rajavi was ideologically motivated!

We see the definite and immediate need for the organization of a movement dedicated to the liberation of the Iranian women - a dynamic, activist organization whose main aim and purpose would be the restoration of the natural, civil, political and economic rights of the women of Iran.

Majlis they went, and, gathered there demanding of the President that he admit them all. What the grave Deputies of the land of the Lion and the Sun may have thought of this strange visitation is not recorded. The President consented to receive a delegation of them. In his reception hall they confronted him, and lest he and his colleagues should doubt their meaning, these cloistered Persian mothers, wives and daughters exulted threateningly their revolvers, tore aside their veils and confessed their decision to kill their own husbands and sons and leave behind their own dead bodies, if the Deputies wavered in their duty to uphold the liberty and dignity of the Persian People."

THE WOMEN'S ROLE IN THE DAWN OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

We believe that the role of Iranian women at this juncture of history is exceedingly important in shaping and directing the future development of the Iranian Society. In general, we have witnessed the emergence of women in this century to the extent that today there is hardly a profession or field in which women arc not active or do not excel. In this day of information and knowledge, we cannot allow Iran to wallow in ignorance and backwardness. We cannot allow our women to remain second class citizens and be considered as chattel. Iran today is in the clutches of a group of ignorant, regressive clerics who are moving the whole society towards annihilation. Iranian women have not only shown their courage in times of national crises, but have proved more worthy than men.

When in 1911, the government of Iran engaged the services of an American advisor Mr. Morgan Shuster to reform the financial and customs affairs of Iran, the Czarist government of Russia which did not wish to see any changes in the Iranian financial system issued an ultimatum to the Iranian government to get rid of Shuster. Following is an excerpt from THE STRANGLING OF PERSIA by Morgan Shuster, about this incident:

"It was rumored more than once that in a secret conclave, the deputies had decided to yield to the Russian demands. The Bazaars and the people of the Capital were torn with anxiety ... The Persian women supplied the answer. Out from their walled courtyards and harems marched three hundred of that weak sex, with the flush of underlying determination in their cheeks ... many held pistols under their skirts or in the folds of their sleeves.

 Straight to the Unfortunately, the women have never benefited from the Iranian Revolutions. Both the Constitutional Revolution which was a positive movement towards progress, and the Islamic Revolution which turned the clock back 1000 years, did not take any positive steps towards women's rights. On the contrary, what rights the women had won in the past few decades before the Islamic Revolution were completely lost once the clerics assumed power. In no time in Iranian history have women been so abused or their rights so violated than under the 16 years of the clerical miss-rule.

THE NEED TO ORGANIZE A GRASS ROOTS MOVEMENT

We need to organize a movement to re-educate the Iranian Society. This is a very essential step and should not be mistaken for a political tactic. This movement must lay the foundation for the dissemination of news and information concerning the women's rights in our society. It can form the basis for an educational campaign aimed at disclosing and discussing the prejudices and the maltreatment of women.
Centuries ago, women became rulers in Persia. Today, it is up to them to reclaim their rightful position in their society. After the revolution, thousands of Iranian women chose or were forced to live in Europe and the U.S. By far the majority have become apolitical, and seem to have forgotten the plight of their mothers and sisters in Iran. In the social gatherings, the subject of the miserable condition of women in Iran hardly ever comes up. They have become fatalistic, and seem to have accepted those conditions as normal. There are a very few active Iranian women who have tried for years to carry the torch. But unfortunately, there numbers are very limited. It is this apathy towards political and substantive events that has weakened the position of our women even more. This apathy breeds pessimism and fear - fear of our own capabilities (or lack thereof), fear of others, fear of whatever is foreign, fear of communications, etc. In the Iranian Society, group thinking and group working - communal cooperation in general - has been obliterated by fear and distrust. It is this state of mind that has eaten into the Iranian psyche like termites. It is this weakness that is seized upon by usurper governments, and emboldens them to subjugate and control the masses. The Iranian Woman must emerge once again as the champion and the guide of our society. It is up to the Iranian women, in coordination and cooperation with the Iranian men, to unite to regain not only their rights, but to liberate the Nation from the yoke and the shame of the clerical rule.

• Women must emerge from this apathetic state, and must become active in reclaiming  their rights and liberties. They must not only join, but lead the struggle to uproot the clerical regime ruling Iran.
• Women must have the right to economic independence, and complete equality with man.
• Women must have the right of full and equal participation in the political process.
• Women must have the right to choose any profession and hold any position they desire or are capable of.

CONCLUSION

In the 16 years of the rule of the ") jurisprudent" of the Islamic Republic, women's rights have been completely violated, but with a few exceptions, our women have been inactive, apathetic and silent. Today the woman in Iran is a second class citizen with hardly any legal or political rights, and are subject to constant harassment and pressure. At the dawn of the Twenty First century, this is an unbearable, untenable situation bordering on national suicide. We must become active and unite to regain the rights of our women.
-There should be no special laws restricting the legal, social or economical rights of women.
The world is witnessing a serious struggle for the control of knowledge, information and raw materials. We cannot afford to be left behind. We, the Iranian women and men, must unite, cooperate and coordinate our movements, organizations, and policies, in order to help free our land and people. We must help prepare our nation for the 21st century.