HUMAN 1C Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Human Sexuality, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Ruhollah Khomeini
Lecture 3
Women Without Men and the 1979 Iranian Revolution
The revolution that brought down the monarchy
●Women were active in the 1979 revolution and also felt
differently about the veil than they do today
January 16th, 1979 is when Mohammad Reza Shah and his wife went
on a vacation and never went back to rule
February 1st, 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini arrives in Tehran after
being exiled in Paris
●Declared he was not interested in running the country
●“Laws of Islam are for the benefit of both man and woman…
we want our women to attain the high rank of humanity.
Women must have a share in determining their destiny… Islam
grants women a say in all affairs just as it grants a man a
say.”
○Representation of women; binary opposition of women as
objects or pleasure seekers, and women rising up to
their duty to preserve their national identity
○Supposed to help women feel they would have a
prominent role in re-creating the nation
Women protest the imposition of compulsory veiling in March 1979
●Women felt betrayed because they fought alongside Iranian
men and now are being told they must do something else; not
quite equal to the men
●There was a political belief that we must fight cultural
imperialism
●Women must wear modest clothing, cover skin, and cover hair
●It is women’s responsibility to make sure men are not
attracted to them
Magical Realism was coined by the German historian Franz Roh;
tendencies in the works of German painters of the period that
juxtaposed realistic things with fantastic/bizarre things
The fantastic is presented as if it were part of reality.
Document Summary
Women without men and the 1979 iranian revolution. Women were active in the 1979 revolution and also felt differently about the veil than they do today. January 16th, 1979 is when mohammad reza shah and his wife went on a vacation and never went back to rule. February 1st, 1979 ayatollah khomeini arrives in tehran after being exiled in paris. Declared he was not interested in running the country. Laws of islam are for the benefit of both man and woman we want our women to attain the high rank of humanity. Women must have a share in determining their destiny islam grants women a say in all affairs just as it grants a man a say. Representation of women; binary opposition of women as objects or pleasure seekers, and women rising up to their duty to preserve their national identity. Supposed to help women feel they would have a prominent role in re-creating the nation.
