Being a woman in Iran, 30 years after the Islamic revolution

Photo: A demonstration by Iranian feminists in June 2006. Published on the excellent photoblog Kosoof.

On February 11, Iran marked the 30^th anniversary of the Islamic revolution that brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power. We posed four questions to our Iranian Observers, based both inside and outside the country.

Read responses from our other Iranian Observers

"I want … to continue to fight injustice and discrimination against women."

Neda Roshangari, 24, data-processing student at the University of Tehran.

What were you doing 30 years ago? 

I was not born yet. But based on what my parents have told me, the revolution was unsatisfying. The Ayatollah Khomeini lied to the Iranians. He did not tell them the truth. He had all of his opponents arrested. And the majority of them died in prison. Today, in spite of my youth, I can see that everything is still under the control of the state."  

Do you feel free in Iran?   

I went to the university and I found part-time work. However, I am also deprived of freedom on a daily basis. I have to wear my school uniform and I cannot wear makeup, much less wear kohl around my eyes. I don't like to wear the chador (a veil that covers the body from head to foot). It hides my beauty. My professor is always asking me in class to cover myself and not to let my face or my hair show. He is very religious.

I live in the capital, but the situation is even more difficult in the country's other cities. There, the girls really suffer. They marry young, between 14 and 16 years of age. Often they do not know their husbands. They cannot refuse, nor divorce, because this is viewed very badly by society. Women do not have leisure time. At school, there are certain fields, like medicine, that are not very accessible.

"I try to have fun. I have a friend. We go to tea houses and the cinema, but we cannot leave Tehran for fear of being stopped by the religious police."

What is your financial situation?  

I work in data processing, and earn around $100 per month. But it is my family that enables me to live. My father earns about $600 (a month) and my mother doesn't work. Families do not let their daughters work in private enterprises. They prefer public companies. You know, there is a big difference between poor girls and those from the higher social classes. The latter can have their own companies. The others wait quietly at home for marriage."

What do you think of the United States?

There is a big difference between the government and the people. I cannot say that I hate America, but what they did in Vietnam, in Iraq and Afghanistan is not worthy of such a large country. I do not have contact with foreigners. I would like to go live elsewhere, in Europe, but I also want to stay here, in Iran, to continue to fight injustice and discrimination against women."

What do you expect from the presidential election next June?  

The Iranian governments are all identical. They arrest people, put them in prison and kill them. They are not democratic. To participate, one must be part of the mullahs' establishment. As for [former President Mohammad] Khatami, he misled people with his pseudo-reformism. It's true that the Iranians like him because he is different from [current President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, but at root he did not do anything and he will not do anything."