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Women’s Activism in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Political Alliance and the Formation of Deliberative Civil Society 1st ed. 2021 Edition Samira Ghoreishi full chapter instant download
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Women’s Activism in the
Islamic Republic of Iran
Women’s Activism in
the Islamic Republic
of Iran
Political Alliance and the Formation
of Deliberative Civil Society
Samira Ghoreishi
Auckland, New Zealand
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2021
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
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nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the
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affiliations.
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG.
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To my mother, Hormat Sadat Ziaian, the first feminist in my life
and my son, Bardia Bayat Moghadam.
Acknowledgments
My research has been guided by many people, and I would like to express
my deep sense of gratitude and thanks to everyone here.
First, I would like to acknowledge the great contribution of my research
participants many of whom I have learned so much from. I owe my deep-
est gratitude to my lead PhD supervisor Katherine Smits and co-supervisor
Thomas Gregory. They have guided me through my PhD journey through
their respectful guidance, critical engagement, and insightful advice.
My sincere thanks goes to my family. My great appreciation and thanks
goes to the one and only true shining star and the first feminist in my life:
my mother, for her love and unconditional emotional and financial sup-
port. She has been a source of inspiration and encouragement. Also, I
must mention the inspiration from my other family members, including
my father Seyyed-Abdollah Ghoreishi whose memory gets me through my
challenging days. Thanks to all for love and your unconditional support.
My deep gratitude and thanks go to my loving, encouraging, and patient
husband, Davood Bayat-Moghadam. And I must also express my love and
thanks to my son, together he and Davood always cheer me up no matter
what challenges the day brings.
Much love and appreciation to you all.
vii
Contents
1 Introduction 1
Why Is This Research Important? 6
The Scholarly Context 8
Research Methodology 16
Research Theory and Conceptualization 17
Research Method and the Scope of the Study 20
Method of Analysis 22
Research Limitations 23
References 26
2 Theoretical Framework 35
A Habermasian Model of Deliberative Engagement in the Public
Sphere 36
The Public Sphere and Rationalization 36
Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action 38
Habermas’ Theory of Discourse Ethics 40
Applying Habermas Model of the Public Sphere to Diverse
Societies: Limitations and Solutions? 43
What Are ‘Counterpublics’? 44
The Quality of Relations Among Counterpublics 48
Applying Habermas Model of Public Sphere in Non-secular
Societies: Limitations and Solutions? 50
ix
x Contents
6 Conclusion171
References 186
Index189
List of Figures
xiii
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
With the emergence of the Islamic movement in 1979 and the resulting
dominance of the new Islamic discourse, the future seemed bleak for
women’s rights and equality in Iran. The clerical elites in the Islamic
Republic of Iran (IRI) asserted that women and men must have different
roles and functions in Islamic society. Accordingly, the mandated gender
roles resulted in different (read: unequal) legal rights in Iran (Akbarzadeh
and MacQueen 2008: 33). One consequence of the Islamic revolution
was the establishment of an ideologically patriarchal constitution. Under
the new laws that were established immediately after the Islamic revolu-
tion, the wearing of the hijab became compulsory for women (Stewart
2009; Matin and Mohajer 2010), men were given the right to get a divorce
without any reason while it is almost impossible for women to initiate a
divorce, and women must also get written permission from a male relative
in order to travel (Stewart 2009; Kar 2001b). Additionally, soon after the
revolution, the 1967 Family Protection Law1 was abolished, eliminating
limitations on polygamy and reducing the minimum age for marriage
(Abbasi-Shavazi and McDonald 2008: 184; Nakanishi 1998).
Nonetheless, after the Iran-Iraq war (1980–1988) and the dominance
of a development-oriented government under the presidency of Akbar
1
1967 Family Protection Law supported women on many issues. As an example, it gave
women the right to initiate divorce, increased the child custody rights, and limited polygamy
(An-Na’im 2002: 94).
5
The Green Movement resulted in a kind of military coup d’etat, brutal suppression and
the house arrest of Zahra Rahnavard and Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
6
‘Conservative political groups’ refers to the supporters of Hashemi Rafsanjani.
7
Religious-oriented reformists encompasses those women and men who support reform as
revised continuation of the line of Islamic revolution.
4 S. GHOREISHI
significant presence and role of the different feminist groups and women’s
rights activists in mobilizing diverse Iranian women and some other social
groups was unprecedented based on the history of the post-revolutionary
Iran. As an active citizen during the Green Movement, I could see a big
wave of hope for change and reform among the diverse social groups and
individuals, particularly among the women. In my opinion, this consensus
and cooperation among the diverse groups of women was different from
the consensus within the One Million Signatures Campaign since I
believed that women had the experiences and knowledge they acquired
during the Campaign and the women’s movement and they had become
more mature. The unprecedented consensus among the diverse groups
and individuals related to the significant role of women, and the non-
violent political struggles before and after the 2009 Presidential election is
and will always be part of the collective memory of my generation.
However, during the aftermath of the election, the state repression, the
end of the pluralist consensus, and the emergence of disagreements in
terms of strategies and approaches to the civil and political struggles were
a shock as well as a hint to me. Even though I left Iran in 2010, I could
not stop thinking about the ways that the Iranian feminist movement has
persisted and can carry on in the future according to its potential despite
the obstacles. In Sweden, I met one of the main establishers of the One
Million Signatures Campaign hoping to achieve an accurate understand-
ing of the main challenges that the Iranian women’s movement has faced.
Following this meeting, I began to ask myself why this consensus as well
as others that had been established, including the consensus within the
Green Movement, did not continue.
The discussion above outlines the context for this research. My interest
in this research project arises from the fact that despite the distinctions
among diverse women’s rights groups and activists, and the differences
among the various social groups, such as, the religious and ethnic minori-
ties, these diverse factions at times have made moves toward solidarity.
The short life of this consensus in addition to others has motivated me to
investigate the links between the women’s rights advocate groups/indi-
viduals and different social groups, and the women’s activism’s potential
to help to form a critical civil society working toward reform in IRI.
Considering this background, the core research question of this study
is as follows:
1 INTRODUCTION 5
• To what extent can the women’s rights groups and activists in the
IRI address the interests of women, while also engaging with the
diverse social groups, to help facilitate the formation of a civil society
capable of engaging in deliberative processes toward reform in
the country?
8
A critical civil society is defined here as a civil society capable of engaging in a deliberative
process toward reform in Iran.
1 INTRODUCTION 7
theoretical lens also helps to send messages to the readers of the book
about what women and other social groups can learn from their practices
or can do. (For more details on the existing literature that have been ben-
eficial to this study, please see the next section ‘The Scholarly Context’).
Second, following the inclusive approach to the women’s activism in
Iran, it is worth emphasizing that the study is particularly about women as
it relates to their public sphere activism, including organized and unorga-
nized activism, and relations and associations with broader social groups
toward facilitating the formation of deliberative civil society. The book
does not aim to examine a single ‘women’s movement’ or ‘feminist move-
ment’ in Iran.
Third, the research broadens the scholarly focus beyond the exclusively
theological (re-interpretation of Islam) and legal (discriminatory laws in
the Islamic Constitution) issues the current literature addresses. In doing
so, this study assesses the capacity for the women’s activism to facilitate the
formation of deliberative civil society through collaboration with diverse
societal groups. As it relates to the contents of Women’s journals, such as,
Zanan, feminists’ interviews and speeches, and much of the academic lit-
erature, show that the dominant debates within the women’s movement
are mainly based on the theological, and legal and political issues that
affect Iranian women’s lives after the Islamic Revolution (H. Afshar 1996a,
b; Azam Zanganeh 2006; Kar 1994a, b, 1997b, 2001b, 2010; Najmabadi
1998; Nakanishi 1998; Neshat 1983; Osanloo 2013; Tohidi 1991). I
argue here that focusing exclusively on the legal and theological discus-
sions has in large part created an intellectual feminist discourse that reso-
nates only with those who are in the elite class and those in the intellectual
class. This study will thus make space for a theory and an inclusive approach
to women’s activism in the IRI that can link the women’s rights groups,
individuals, and activists from a diverse social and ideological background
together toward the formation of a pluralist public sphere.
Fourth, in contrast with some of the feminist studies on Iranian wom-
en’s rights in post-revolutionary Iran that highlight the oppressive state
power or the emergence of fundamentalist/political Islam as an obstacle
(Mir-Hosseini 1999; Moallem 2005; Moghissi 1999; Najmabadi 1998;
Tohidi 1991), the present work focuses on the positive capacities of wom-
en’s activism in the context of Iran. Hence, this study is important and
significant since it undertakes to broaden the mainstream scholarly view
on and an analysis of the Iranian women’s activism. The book challenges
the scholarly perspectives that have given too much attention to state
8 S. GHOREISHI
9
Sheikh Mohammad Abdou is a liberal reformer, Egyptian religious figure, and one of the
main founding fathers of Islamic Modernism.
10
Qasim Amin has been the secular jurist, and one of the main founders of Egyptian
National movement and his books are still considered as first works on feminism in the
Arab world.
10 S. GHOREISHI
exclusively on the legal and theological discussions has in large part cre-
ated an elitist intellectual feminist discourse. This study will make space for
theory and an inclusive approach to women’s activism in Iran.
The fourth body of literature, concerning the feminist movement in the
IRI specifically, mostly includes studies written after the 1990s and the
emergence of Islamic feminism. Some of these studies that are based on
Zanan magazine celebrate the emergence of Islamic feminism as feminism
which is capable of working with secular feminism and moving toward
reform in the IRI (Moghadam 2002; Najmabadi 1997, 1998). The major-
ity of this literature has examined the context of post-revolutionary Iran,
to explain the status of women alongside the emergence of Islamic funda-
mentalism, Islamization, and the Islamic constitution. The majority of
studies in this group has attempted to clarify what Islamic feminism fol-
lows theoretically and methodologically; what the main differences are
among the various Iranian feminist groups-specifically Islamic and secular
feminism; and what the relationship is between the Iranian feminists and
Islamic fundamentalists (H. Afshar 1993, 1998; F. Ahmadi 2006; Badran
2009; Ghorashi 1996; Moghadam 2002; Moghissi 1994, 1998, 1999;
Najmabadi 1997, 1998; Paidar 1995; Tohidi 1991).
This study acknowledges the existence of different Iranian feminist
groups, particularly Islamic and secular, and understands the differences
among feminist groups. However, as mentioned, the focal point of the
work is on ‘women’s activism’ rather than Islamic and secular feminism
and their differences. The research assumption is that exclusively consider-
ing Islamic and secular feminist groups in leadership positions and provid-
ing a detailed discussion of their differences would resonate only with
those who are in the elite class and those in the intellectual class. This is in
contrast with the inclusive approach of the study. Additionally, as there are
many debates around Islamic and secular feminism in the context of Iran,
and a large body of literature has extensively considered the relations and
differences between these two feminist discourses, the present study
will avoid a detailed discussion of different feminist groups in Iran. It is
also worth mentioning that mapping the world (‘Iranian women’s activ-
ism’ in this research context) into dichotomies limits the possibilities we
can consider in the way toward achieving justice (Ackerly and True 2010:
26–27). Accordingly, the book will focus on the ongoing story of wom-
en’s activism across these differences. The study will be about women as it
relates to their public sphere activism and their relations and associations
with broader social groups toward facilitating the formation of
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