Irans attack on Islamic Feminists.

Ladies and Gentleman we are in the 21^st century and ironically I feel I am writing a history essay ….

This month it has been reported in the news that women undergraduates will be excluded from a broad range of studies in some of the Iran’s leading institutions.  36 universities have announced that 77 BA and BSc courses in the coming academic year will be "single gender" and effectively exclusive to men.

There was no official reason given for this new discriminatory policy, but Iranian officials have expressed their concern about the country's declining birth and marriage rates, seen as partially caused by women's rising educational attainment in the last two decades.

Iran has been able to pride itself over the fact that UNESCO states that they have the highest ratio of female to male undergraduates in the world and also being the first middle-eastern nation to allow women to study at university since the Islamic revolution of 1979.

These university bans have now proven that this has been a farce and a clear production of the “glass-ceiling effect” over Iranian women.  There is now an apparent relationship in Iran under the rule of the misogynist mullas, who advocate a superior social position for men and the use of education as means for creating a strictly sex-segregated society.

I wanted to firstly examine to what extent we can look back at the Islamic revolution of 1979 to help us understand contemporary issues in Iran, especially to understand the treatment towards women.

There have been many Iranian intellectuals who mocked the trite bourgeois culture in the Middle East and argue that it they are imitative of Western culture. Particularly the critique by Ahmad Fardid, a prominent Iranian philosopher who became a huge part of the Islamic government that came into power in 1979.

Fardid coined the term ‘westoxication’ which was popularised by similar-minded intellectuals such as Jalal Al-e Ahmad and Gharbzadegi and then this became a leading core ideological teaching of the new government.

‘Westoxication’ is the idea that repels the pervasive Western influence in Iranian society and thus calling for a greater cultural authenticity and independence. In essence, it's the idea of using the means of the educational system as a bulwark against Western domination and cultural dependency in Iran.

I will tell you now why I think this is particularly relevant. Kamran Daneshjou, the Minister of science, research and technology dismissed Western criticism of Iran's steps, saying: "The angrier Western media gets, the more we realise we are moving in the right direction". 

This is an example of the ‘westoxication’ ambience of Iranians repelling anything that is ‘modernising’, thus women attending universities is a step towards a liberal egalitarian society, in other words a ‘westernising’ society.

            This is by no means a declaration of my support towards the ban, but more of an attempt to contextualise the discrimination.  It is more importantly to provide a historical and political understanding to the formation of the Islamic republic, as it was women too who were at the forefront of the protests against the westernising monarchy and fought for an Islamic theocracy led by Khomeini. The ideology of ‘westoxication’ spread throughout the entire nation, including women and they wanted to return what they believed was authentically Iranian.

As Ziba Mir-Hosseini wrote:

“Like most Iranian women, I strongly supported the 1978–79 revolution and believed in the justice of Islam; but when the Islamists strengthened their hold on power and made the sharia (or their interpretation of it) the law of the land, I found myself a second-class citizen. This brought the realization that there can be no justice for me, as a Muslim woman, as long as patriarchy is justified and upheld in the name of Islam. The prevailing interpretations of the sharia do not reflect the values and principles that I hold to be at the core of my faith.”

The unintended consequence of the reintroduction of Sharia in Iran and the attempt to enforce oppressive mandates has now become the foundations of a new dialogue between Islamic law and feminism.

This dialogue has become a catalyst for the emergence of Islamic feminism in Iran, that encourages new reformist and feminist voices within Islam that challenges Iran’s legal vision.

The concept of 'Islamic Feminism' allows for the fusion between two schools of thought: 'Islam' which is intrinsically patriarchal and 'feminism' which attacks patriarchal discourses. 

It offers an authentic and indigenous emancipation alternative to the idea of secularism. This is a growing movement amongst Muslims, especially women, away from the inherited patriarchal Islam toward an egalitarian Islam. Some notable Iranian Islamic feminists: Asaneh Najmabadi, Haideh Moghissi and Zibi Mir-Hosseini.

Thus, these Islamic feminists chose to work within a system dictated by Quranic legislation. They contend to statements made in the Qu'ran, for example verses that discuss male polygamy, men's unilateral right to divorce, greater rights of inheritance and legal testimony.

They also contend to the traditions of hadiths that discuss veiling, gender segregation, and women's unsuitability for leadership of a Muslim community. Scholars challenge these notions and re-examine these positions. Islamic feminists are considered ‘realists’, they are aware of their society and their political reality.

This is a pragmatic flexible activist strategy that is reframing feminism to fit within their belief system.  While they would not give up their allegiance to Islam as an essential part of self-determination and identity there have been successes in challenging patriarchal control.

Examples -- Feminists in Iran have succeeded in passing legislation requiring couples to sign a prenuptial agreement granting women divorce rights equal to men. Another success lies in the formation of Zanan has been an important journal in Iran that articulates the Islamic feminist ideas and it has become one of the most significant documents for studying progression in Islamic feminism.

Navi Pillay, the high commissioner for human rights said the real agenda was to reduce the proportion of female students to below 50% – from around 65% at present – thereby weakening the Iranian feminist movement in its campaign against discriminatory Islamic laws.

"[It] is part of the recent policy of the Islamic Republic, which tries to return women to the private domain inside the home as it cannot tolerate their passionate presence in the public arena," says the letter, which was also sent to Ahmad Shaheed, the UN's special rapporteur for human rights in Iran. "The aim is that women will give up their opposition and demands for their own rights."

     The IRI have now taken every available measure to prevent women from entering the society.  However, when misogynist restrictions are imposed upon female creativity to completely restrain women from making progress in male dominated world it will prove insufficient. I will now just sit back and watch the Islamic feminists respond to this injustice! 

Sources:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9487761/Anger-as-Iran-bans-women-from-universities.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19665615

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/09/201292211424417429.html?fb_action_ids=10151071756009141&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=246965925417366

Brad, Hanson. "The “Westoxication” of Iran: Depictions and Reactions of Behrangi, Āl-e Ahmad, and Shari ati." International Journal of Middle East Studies 15, no. 1 (1983): 1-23.

Mir-Hosseini, Ziba. "Muslim Women’s Quest for Equality: Between Islamic Law and Feminism." Critical Inquiry 32, no. 4 (2006): 640-641.

Shahidian, Hammed. "The Education of Women in the Islamic Republic of Iran." Journal of Women's History 2, no. 3 (1991): 6-38.

The Sensitive Case of a Desi Marriage Proposal

This morning I received a text from one of my closest friends from undergrad. We have been out of touch for almost two years now and every time we’ve tried to meet up it’s always failed at the last minute. Well, I guess it should come as no surprise that her text told me that she would be getting married in a month’s time.

Yes, that strange enigma known as marriage. If you are Asian or a Desi girl like my fine self, then you will understand the huge weight that hangs off this double syllabic noun. Most especially if you’re a Desi girl about to hit her twenty’s, then someone, somewhere along the line will only be too kind enough to remind you that you have less than ten years left to find the ‘man of your dreams’. I kid, it’s actually five.

Yes, indeed. 25 is the cut off point. And I cannot recollect to you now the number of people I have come across, whether they be friends, family, or close acquaintances, who have drilled this extraordinary fact of life into their own psyche and infected all those around them.

What’s more extraordinary is that this supposed belief has genuinely seeped into the minds of young graduate girls about to embark onto the career ladder. I’m ashamed to admit that it has almost become a constant topic at my own friends socials, and it seems that all of us, whether we are willing to reveal it or not, lives with the same fear inside of us. That is, that we won’t find anyone in time.

I know it sounds desperate, but I have noticed that all girls suffer from the same kind of universal pressure that they will inevitably live and die old and alone.  For many, myself included, there is the fear that you will end up with someone who does not constitute in any shape or form, the man of your dreams. I mean, you meet many people as you progress through life. Not all of them share the same ideals and future ambitions as you. Even less of these amount to ‘marriage material’, and with the added time limit on top, you can begin to understand why women feel as though they simply have no control over their own lives.

But this article isn’t about female empowerment. It’s more about cultural perceptions which many people from the South Asian continent suffer day in and day out. This need to arise and uphold the traditions of their ancestors, simply because basically they have a supposed duty to do so. We’re all mere pawns in this game, compelled to sacrifice or grossly compromise our own self worth and our own happiness to ensure that the great institution of marriage lives on.

I wasn’t really shocked by my friend’s text. She’s always been very certain of what she wants out of life. She even had a list while we were still young freshers, of what she would accomplish after she finished uni: postgrad, career, marriage. And, from what I gather, she is right on track.

But I have always been different. I’ve never had set goals or ambitions, rather I like to see where life will take me next. I’ve always been happier doing that. But then I guess I have never had to grow up with expectations of what I would become and what I would achieve. Even the subject of marriage has always been a grey area. Perhaps, being the youngest of my own family, marriage has never really affected me in the same way that it has affected other girls. I was always far too young and I honestly didn’t give it much thought. Instead, my only worry was my career, as I was at a complete crossroads after uni, and had no idea which path to take.

It was only after my masters had finished and I had moved back home that my mother sat me down and gave me the ‘big talk’. For white parents it’s about sex. For Desi parents, however, it is invariably marriage.  I was the tender age of 22. I’m 23 now and feelings of increased pressure to find someone to settle down with are beginning to solidify.

You know, it’s funny. Before, my mother used to laugh off any marriage proposals that came my way through friends of friends. Asians typically like to arrange the marriages of their sons and daughters by keeping a strong look out for any potentials at social functions or weddings, even word of mouth if you’re a bit of a catch. But that was then. Now my mother has realised that my older brothers are now pushing thirty and they still haven’t settled down. Of course this whole ’25, cut off point’ doesn’t apply to guys in general. They have literally all the time in the world. But I guess the 30 mark makes everyone a little bit queasy, my mother most especially.

I don’t know if she’s given up on them already, or whether she’s planning some kind of family intervention with them. But I have to say, she’s now turned her thoughts to me and it’s become almost a daily topic with us. So much for the lack of pressure, eh? It seems I am Asian after all!

She actually nags to me that if I had kept my own lookout while at uni I would have been happily married by now. And, grudgingly, it’s hard not to agree with her. Most of my friends who are married now met while at uni and they’ve never looked back. There are only one or two, like my friend from this morning, who have found a husband outside of uni.

But I don’t know. For me, guys at uni are completely different to what they are outside of uni. For undergrads, it’s all about the fun and games that freedom away from parents gives you. It’s hard not to completely rule out the entire campus male population in this case. I’ve always thought that girls should aim for someone older than them, where maturity levels are more likely to match.

I think all girls, whether they reveal it or not have the pressure of finding a husband when they get to uni. It’s definitely not the same case for guys. And trust me on this, as the youngest of three older brothers, I feel as though I’m more adept to the male way of thinking. Not only that, but I also feel that I have been greatly influenced by them too. For that reason, marriage has never seemed important to me. I mean, don’t get me wrong, all girls dream of Prince Charming coming to sweep them off their feet and live happily ever after. But then again, fairy tales and real life don’t tend to mix too much. So this whole marriage idea really doesn’t sit well with my whole persona, and it’s extremely difficult not to run a mile in the opposite direction every time my mother mentions it.

But over the past few years I have come to realise what my crux actually is. It’s not so much the whole institution of marriage, rather it is the trust issues that come along with it. I have heard so many horror stories of marriages breaking up and couples falling out of love, and it honestly scares the hell out of me.

So, it’s be pretty scary to be faced with a deadline to find the one who won’t break your heart and ruin your life. Marriage is of course all about compromise, but being a girl it’s funny how it falls to us to make most of the sacrifices. Ultimately, we are compelled to adjust into the family and lifestyle of our husbands, and that is a huge thing for me to give up, especially when I feel as though my life has only just begun.

In the end, it all comes down to sheer luck I guess. You have to have blind faith and hope for the best. The best being that the guy I choose to marry is Prince Charming in disguise.

written by Aisha Farooq

Skin bleaching: has India gone too far?

I have major psychological issues with the colour of my skin. It has been something that I have been trying to maintain my entire life. I hate the sun and I try my best not to have any contact with it. Seriously, I tan quicker than Usain Bolt can run! But after this summer when a beauty experiment completely failed and left rashes on my face, I knew I had taken my insecurities a little bit too far.

I am pretty sure many South-Asian girls face the same trials that I am talking about. Spending hours exfoliating your face, drinking your own weight in water, or using SPF 50+ whenever you go on holiday. Has anyone tried that haldi and yogurt mixture yet? Or even Sudocream? I remember my sister and I would literally just paste the stuff on our faces for the entire day. Or is that just us? Oh wait, what about making sure the flash is on your camera so you would come out with a nicer complexion?

These are only a few examples of how I have taken skin toning to a whole new level. But my insecurities delve from something much deeper, from certain ingrained beliefs in my head that being fairer is beautiful.

Allow me to elaborate. The video is below is of a recent Indian advertisement for Clean and Dry, a vaginal wash which apparently promises women a fairer bikini area. The video shows a woman who is neglected by her husband, as he seems more interested in reading a newspaper than spending time with her. Then, by a miracle from up high she discovers the solution to all her problems - a vaginal wash! After using it, we see a remarkable difference in her confidence as she starts jumping on the sofa wearing tiny shorts whilst sexually beckoning her husband.

Finally the advert states (translated): "Life for women will now be fresher, cleaner and more importantly fairer and more intimate".

I was first shocked, and then I was left outraged. So now not only does my face have to be fairer but my vagina has to be fairer too? Seriously? Are you freaking kidding me? How on earth am I to keep up with all these ridiculous expectations of beauty? This is the point where I accept defeat. I am never going to look like Aishwarya Rai.

So - I decided to research a little more into this bleaching obsession. It seems that the cosmetic use of chemical agents to lighten the complexion of ones skin, also referred to as skin whitening, skin lightening or skin bleaching is not just a South Asian social problem but in fact a widespread global phenomenon. Skin bleaching represents a multi-faceted experience that is driven from a wide range of historical, cultural and psychological factors.

Being the historian that I am, I have examined a variety of scholars who examine skin bleaching and they determine the root causes from the institutions of colonialism, and the recurring theme of "white supremacy" as a dominant instigator for the desire to skin bleach.

Interestingly, Indian girls have been raised to believe that fairness is the epitome of beauty and this has justified the rise of a $100 million a year skin-whitening industry - which is now encouraging women that having fair hands and face is still not good enough. Even the love of my life... Shah Rukh Khan has endorsed whitening products including Fair and Handsome cream, after shave and facial wash for men.

Frantz Fanon explained, “In the man of colour there is a constant effort to run away from his own individuality, to annihilate his own presence”. So, according to Fanon, the desire to alter one's body to shape their ideal is not a new concept. However, to wilfully "bleach" your skin shows a deeper issue within South Asian girls perception of beauty - it encourages the belief that we are only beautiful if we are similar to our own white counterparts.

Otherness, then, is strongly loathed. To be outcast from the superior majority that prides itself on beauty, wealth, fame, and most importantly power.

There seems to be no end to feeling of insecurity and inferiority that so many people feel across the world. We are all entranced by the glamour of Hollywood that constantly reminds us that beauty and fairness is something that we as ordinary people should aspire to. To be constantly attractive, sexy and appealing. To be looked at. Whatever the West does, it is inevitable that the East will look on and attempt to emulate. India's booming Bollywood industry relies on the idea that 'whiter beauty' is everything. Heroines are cast to represent a small elite that is more Western than Eastern because that is the only place that true beauty can be found. We just need to listen to musical numbers that accompany these actresses, that emphasise gori-ness as opposed to its unmentioned other.

What is more disturbing is that most people are happy to believe the nonsensical dogma that to be whiter is to be better in every sense. Whiteness may hold connotations of purity and cleanliness but it is far from being something that we should all aspire to be.

I hate the idea that there can only be one type of beauty in the world. Where only some are born with it while others really have to work at it. As the saying goes, beauty is in the mind of the beholder. Well some really messed up minds have made us think that beauty can only be fair and I know that it's ridiculous opinions like these that have chased me my entire life.

It's sad to think that society has been numbed in such a way, for it to be normalised into thinking what beauty is or should be. One thing is for sure though, like so many other things in this modern day, beauty has been manipulated and played on like a commodity by money-making machines. It's ironic that beauty can be bought and sold so instantly. That people can change every aspect of themselves to become something that someone else told them is better. And that to do so can bring them happiness.

But will it? I can lap on bleaching creams day in and day out for the rest of my life but I don't think it will make me a happier person. But where does that leave me then? To be constantly made insecure by what society and media outlets deems to be attractive?

The conception of beauty has in modern times been made to be base and cheap. So much so, that ironically it is no longer beautiful. But whatever my opinions on the subject, fairness is clearly a touchy subject for most. And it's sad to think that this absurd and farcical bias won't be leaving our heads, least of all my own, anytime soon.

Aisha Rani

There is always that one person. That one person whom truly inspires you and makes you believe in the good in humanity. That one person who makes you rethink about life or challenge your normative ideas about strength. This one person I am going to talk about now exceeds everything and it is because her strength is beyond measure. Honestly I am actually ashamed of myself for not writing about her before, yet I feel it would do her wrong by trying to explain how and why she has got to where she is, and what she has had to go through in her life. All I will say is that she is absolutely stunning, from her beauty through to her spirit. My cousin Aisha Mahmood has recently written a poem that touched my soul. The poem is about her story, how she went in for heart surgery and was told she would be in hospital for two weeks. Those two weeks turned into six long months. But I will tell you something, her pain has actually been for longer than that it has been 17 years. However she is too humble to dwell on that, but she did say to me "I want this to be heard". Such powerful words from someone so young, that has more experience of life than I ever will. I love you. 

"Heart Beating" by Aisha Mahmood. 


Woke up, didn't know where I was, wanted to get out of this misery as soon as I could,
looked around and all I saw, was everybody staring at me, asking am I ok? do I need any help? I had no voice couldn't speak at all. 

Heart stopped beating, life was fading then all of a sudden an angel came calling
6 months, stuck in a white hell, smelt like detergent, wired up to the machines, all I could hear was beep, beep, beep 

I never gave up, I kept on fighting, but slowly lights dim down thought it was my last night, mumma's tears hit the floor, all the doctors could say was 'I'm sorry' . blacked out minds, time flew by, simple operation became the story of my life
sooner or later, I found out that mumma fell to the ground, yet I made no sound, lied still on the bed, shed no tear 

Heart stopped beating, life was fading then all of a sudden an angel came calling
had to learn how to walk, had to learn how to talk, it felt like I was a new born baby
it was the worst 6 months, went through hell and back. god gave me a chance to relive my life and now I'm back on track 

and even though its been 6 years, I still remember the pain and looking at my parents face, they're praying every single day hoping I'll be okay. I'll never ever repay them with what they have done, without them I wouldn't be here 

Heart stopped beating, life was fading then all of a sudden an angel came calling

Gender, Art and the Arab Spring

The function of art - one of the functions of art - consists in bringing spiritual [geistigen] peace to humanity. I believe one cannot characterise the state of consciousness in contemporary art any better than by saying: more and more people are becoming conscious that spiritual peace is not enough because it has never prevented, nor could it ever prevent, real strife, and that perhaps one of the functions of art today is also to contribute to real peace - a function that cannot be foisted upon art, but must lie in the essence of art itself.

- Herbert Marcuse, "Society as a Work of Art"

In the tradition of mass public movement - art has been able to express the silenced voices of the masses and expose true thoughts in socio-political means. Street-Wall art against the Shah of Iran before his flight from Tehran in 1979 and the graffiti and posters used in Beirut during the civil war in Lebanon are just a few examples of real public opinion. However, I don't feel the need to write meticulously justifying the way in which art has revolutionised the study of history, politics or anthropology. But I assure you, this is no different when examining the role art has played in the Arab Spring. The plethora of exhibitions, wall art or paintings of the Spring that have been circling the internet has definitely generated some Natasha interest!

Tomb Sonata in Three Military Movements by Khaled Hafez

Some notable artworks such as "Tomb Sonata in Three Military Movements by Khaled Hafez", consists of stones thrown by Egyptian military politice at peaceful pro-democracy civilians. Baledi's Borg El Amal (Tower of Hope), an unfinished cement and red-brick structure, echoes the informa houses that are occupied by the poorest in Egypt. Baledi had special bricks made with the words "hope" in English and Arabic and the image of a man with a donkey.

Reedie El-Saie, a representative from London Modern Islamic and Contemporary Art, stated:

"Before the uprisings people either saw it [art] as exotic and innocuous or steeped in the Islamic tradition; artists were wary of showing work that might be seen as too political."

In particular, street art has been seen as a kind of political protest indicating public sentiment and this has been displayed throughout the cities of Cairo, Tripoli and even Ramallah, and proving the efficacy of doing so. There has also been a growing and potent manifestation of art through "graffiti" form that expresses political dissent. Salwat Ali in his article 'Graffiti: Street art and the Arab Spring', argues that, "The scrawls, letterings and pictoral art with which young Egyptians are signing [...] walls across the country bloom with witty, scathing, and melancholy messages". Indeed, these political art works of various forms have succeeded in expressing the deep political climate of the Arab World. 

.... That said, this would not be a Natasha article if I didn't highlight the discursive potential of women in the Middle East. 

In March, I read an article where authorities in the UAE removed two Arab-Spring inspired paintings from an art fair. Being the naive liberal Westerner that I am, I conducted a little bit more research and found the first painting that was removed was titled "After Washing" by Palestinian artist Shadi Al Zaqzouq, and the similarly "You were my only love" by Moroccan artist Zakaria Ramhani. I was completely bemused by this, and inspired at the same time. These pieces of artwork are beautifully powerful....... Yet the artists were given no explanations as to why this happened.

You were my only love by Zakaria Ramhani

After Washing by Shadi al Zaqzouq

Zaqzouq was denied a visa by the UAE authorities to attend the exhibition at which his painting was shown and then banned. The painting shows a masked young woman revolutionary holding a pair of underwear written with the word "leave" (in Arabic) - which has refused, in all its "shamelessness" to be washed away.

Ramhani artistically utilises the famous photo of the courageous Egyptian woman who was dragged along the ground by the police, ignoring her rights and exposing her bra. However, Ramhani adds a twist He replaces the baton-wielding police officers with monkeys.

"Van Gogh was depicted too, like a hapless witness to the violent near-rape of a woman who at that moment represented an entire nation bravely facing up to its rapists. The result is a scene from the human jungle, the jungle of political oppression." (Najwan Darwish)

I think this is deeper than an issue of censorship and banning laws. It has provided me not only with an opportunity to criticise the Arab forms of censorship, but also question the unspoken patriarchy of the Arab world. What these two breathtaking pieces of art have in common is young Arab artists using women's underwear to comment on the political situation of their respective countries.