Women and Politics in Iran : Veiling, Unveiling, and Reveiling

Why were urban women veiled in the early 1900s, unveiled from 1936 to 1979, and reveiled after the 1979 revolution? This question forms the basis of Hamideh Sedghi's original and unprecedented contribution to politics and Middle Eastern studies. Using primary and secondary sources, Sedghi offers new knowledge on women's agency in relation to state power. In this rigorous analysis she places contention over women at the centre of the political struggle between secular and religious forces and demonstrates that control over women's identities, sexuality, and labor has been central to the consolidation of state power. Sedghi links politics and culture with economics to present an integrated analysis of the private and public lives of different classes of women and their modes of resistance to state power. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 9 Acknowledgments......Page 13 Transliteration and References......Page 17 Introduction......Page 19 Part I Women in Early Twentieth-Century Iran......Page 41 1 The Qajar Dynasty, Patriarchal Households, and Women......Page 43 Veiling......Page 44 Women and work......Page 47 Women and religion......Page 52 National and international politics......Page 58 The constitutional revolution and women’s participation......Page 60 Reforms and men’s, not women’s, suffrage......Page 65 Feminism......Page 68 Part II Women in the Kingdom of the Peacock Throne......Page 77 2 The Pahlavi Dynasty as a Centralizing Patriarchy......Page 79 Reza shah: power and politics......Page 80 State-building, westernization, repression, and emasculation......Page 82 Women’s work, education, and legal reforms......Page 85 Independent women’s activities and “state feminism”......Page 94 Unveiling......Page 102 World war ii, dynastic changes, and new feminisms......Page 108 Defeat of women’s suffrage, mosaddegh, and the cia coup......Page 113 3 Economic Development and the Gender Division of Labor......Page 117 Integration into world capitalism......Page 118 The shah and economic development......Page 121 Urbanization......Page 124 The gender division of labor: the household......Page 126 The gender division of labor: the labor force......Page 130 Division of labor by major economic sectors and class......Page 132 The Industrial Sector and Women......Page 133 The Service Sector and Women......Page 137 Division of labor by marital status and life cycle......Page 143 4 The State and Gender: Repression, Reform, and Family Legislation......Page 146 The state and gender......Page 147 State-religion conflict......Page 149 The white revolution and the opposition......Page 151 The family protection laws......Page 152 Adultery, rape, and prostitution in the penal code......Page 159 Women and labor legislation......Page 163 5 Women and the State......Page 170 Women’s suffrage and political inequality......Page 172 Women’s agency......Page 178 Conformist women......Page 180 Elite Women......Page 181 Women’s Organization of Iran......Page 186 Women in the State Apparatus......Page 191 Nonconformist women......Page 197 Secular Left Women......Page 199 Secular Independent Women......Page 205 Women of the Religious Opposition......Page 211 Part III Women in the Islamic Republic of Iran......Page 215 6 Women, the 1979 Revolution, and the Restructuring of Patriarchy......Page 217 The revolution and its discontents......Page 220 State-building, islamization, and gender......Page 224 Reveiling......Page 227 Sexuality, mobilization, and gender police......Page 232 7 The Gender Division of Labor......Page 239 International political economy and economic changes......Page 240 Shifts in the gender division of labor......Page 243 Women’s labor......Page 246 The Household......Page 247 The Marketplace......Page 250 The Informal Labor Market......Page 255 Contradictions......Page 258 8 Politics and Women’s Resistance......Page 263 Women’s resistance......Page 264 Opponent women......Page 267 Revolutionaries......Page 268 Rebels......Page 271 Reformers......Page 273 Proponent women......Page 279 Devouts......Page 282 Trespassers......Page 285 Conclusion......Page 290 Glossary......Page 307 Documents, Books, and Articles......Page 313 Newspaper and Magazine Articles......Page 333 Films, Videos, Radio Reports, and Web Sites......Page 337 Index......Page 339 Why were urban women veiled in early 1900s, unveiled 1936 to 1979, and reveiled after 1979 revolution? This question is the basis of Hamideh Sedghi's contribution to politics and Middle Eastern studies. Sedghi gives new knowledge on women's agency in relation to state power. She places contention over women at center of political struggle between secular and religious forces and shows that control over women's identities, sexuality, and labor has been central to consolidation of state power. She links politics and culture with economics to present an analysis of private and public lives of different classes of women and their modes of resistance to state power. Sedghi incorporates women in Iranian history, focuses on state-gender-religion relations and addresses women's responses to Iranian state, women's agency, and their resistance-- Publisher's description This is a groundbreaking analysis of the relations between gender and politics in Iran's development over the past 100 years. Sedghi discusses the private and public lives of women of different classes and analyzes women's work and their mode of resistance to state power.