by Nina Ansary
Farzaneh (Wise)
Farzaneh (1993–2009), a prominent, independent academic journal of women’s studies published in both English and Farsi by the Center for Women’s Studies and Research, served predominantly as a theological and theoretical campaigning medium among academics, scholars, and policymakers in Iran and abroad.59
Its licensee, Massoumeh Ebtekar, served in Khatami’s administration, and its editor in chief, Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, was a well-known women’s rights activist, whose numerous public demonstrations culminated in her arrest and imprisonment in 2010.60
Farzaneh’s exceedingly unbiased viewpoint may best be exemplified in the philosophy of Abbasgholizadeh:
We know that secular women do not share our convictions, but this does not give us any problems, since we are all working to promote the status of women. We Islamists have abandoned the idea that we are the sole heirs to the revolution. We realize that our sectarianism during the early years led to the isolation of many competent women and this was detrimental to women in general. We want to make up for our mistakes.61
Despite a progressive vision and the use of a dual language reflecting the desire to engage with professional women abroad, the editorial board of Farzaneh avoided making any use of “feminist” terminology, simply referring to their team as karshenas (experts).62
Over the years, Farzaneh appeared sporadically, and while the journal never officially ceased publication, it has not been seen on newsstands since 2009.63
Hoquq-e Zanan (Women’s Rights)
Hoquq-e Zanan (1998–1999), launched by Ashraf Geramizadegan, made a brief appearance on the media horizon. Geramizadegan focused exclusively on debating gender issues from a legal perspective in Hoquq-e Zanan—with an emphasis on violence against women.64 When asked by author Ziba Mir-Hosseini why she avoided the term feminism in her editorials, Geramizadegan replied:
Our problem with this term is that it is associated with radical and extreme expressions of feminism; that is, it has not been understood as women’s social movement for equal rights and justice. Feminism is seen as a negative force and its positive contributions have been ignored. We consider ourselves to be advocates of women’s rights, and if they call this feminism, then I must say we are feminist, but not in the radical meaning that they say. When we see inequality, we want to change it in line with our culture and tradition.65
Mir-Hosseini indicates that Hoquq-e Zanan argued for “attaining justice and women’s equality within the norms of the Sharia, as well as Iranian mores and culture.”66
Jens-e Dovom (The Second Sex)
Jens-e Dovom (1998–2000) was launched by Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani, who was among the first women to procure a publishing license. She often collaborated with women’s rights activists in exile to gain additional insight on international women’s issues.67 Jens-e Dovom reported on women workers and writers, domestic violence, as well as the lives of Iranian families living outside Iran. Forced by authorities to cease publication in 2001, Khorasani launched a quarterly journal, Fasl-e Zanan (Women’s Season) in 2002.68
Zan (Woman)
Zan (1998–1999), the infamously controversial publication founded by Faezeh Hashemi, the rebellious daughter of Iran’s former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, was the Republic’s first women’s daily newspaper. Increasingly frustrated by the condition of women in Iran, Faezeh Hashemi, who served as a member of the fifth parliament (1996–2000), was a vocal critic of the state’s discriminatory practices. Her candid interviews, speeches, and editorials—a constant source of outrage for the conservative coalition—made her extremely popular among women and youth.69 Hashemi routinely advocated that women should engage in athletics and stand as candidates for the Assembly of Experts (Majlis-e Khobregan).70 Not one to shy away from confrontation, she was notorious for her brash statements, including that “if men are our problem, then we should get them to read these issues.”71
The paper’s demise in its first year stemmed from two specific features: an interview conducted with Iran’s former Empress, Farah Pahlavi, on the eve of the Persian New Year—a controversial act given that anyone from the monarchy was considered taboo; and a satirical cartoon aimed at the Islamic Retribution Law (Qesas), in which the husband of a couple held at gunpoint beckons the criminal to shoot his wife: “Kill her—She is cheaper!”72
Hashemi’s defiant nature has continuously been the subject of media coverage and ultimately not without consequence. In 2012, she was sentenced to six months in prison for “making propaganda against the ruling system” and prohibited from participating in all cultural, political, and media activities for a period of five years.73 Throughout all of her trials and tribulations, Hashemi has always maintained that “it is not Islam which forbids women from attaining office, but the interpretation of its teachings by the clerics.”74
Zanan (Women)
Known for its modern perspective on gender issues related to religion, law, culture, and education, Zanan (1992–2008) was launched in February 1992. This independent reformist publication was instantly classified as a “sophisticated literary magazine with an overtly feminist agenda.”75 Under the brilliant leadership of Shahla Sherkat, the monthly Zanan astutely articulated the suffering of women that had been imposed by custodians of a misogynist ideology.
We will explore in depth the story of Shahla Sherkat and Zanan magazine in the following chapter.
With regard to women’s magazines upholding the Islamic Republic’s patriarchal stance on gender issues, the following are major publications sanctioned by the state:
Payam-e Zan (Woman’s Message)
Inaugurated in 1992, Payam-e Zan is the official journal of the Qom Theological Seminary. Written and edited by men on the grounds that women are not permitted at the seminary, the magazine denounced gender parity as a Western concept with no place in Islam. Under the editorship of cleric Seyyed Zia Mortazavi, this entity held the “pronounced patriarchal biases of Sharia legal rulings to be immutable.”76
Over the years, Payam-e Zan has vociferously denounced the equality premise in scriptures and even gone so far as to buttress its refutations by publishing a series of one hundred interviews with well-known professional Muslim women who adhere to the principles of sacred authority. In reviewing their dialogue, author Janet Afary has concluded that while these women are ideologically sanctioned by the traditional order and work in close proximity with various government officials, “not one appears to be a conventional wife and mother.”77
Rah-ye Zeynab (Zeynab’s Path) and Zan-e Ruz (Today’s Woman)
The two women’s publications employed during the Pahlavi regime to propagate a Western lifestyle were relaunched after the revolution as a powerful “arm of activism” on behalf of the reigning orthodoxy.78
The bright, colorful pages of Ettela‘at-e Banovan (Ladies’ Information) and Zan-e Ruz (Today’s Woman) were replaced with somber graphics and text endorsing the official creed of a religious empire. Ettela‘at-e Banovan was taken over by the Islamic Republican Party and renamed Rahye Zeynab (Zeynab’s Path) after Prophet Mohammad’s granddaughter, while Zan-e Ruz retained its original name and operated under Dr. Zahra Rahnavard and the editorship of Shahla Sherkat.79
Neda (Proclamation)
The conservative journal Neda (Proclamation) was dedicated to a traditional Islamic agenda, supporting privileges for women solely within the boundaries of a repressed atmosphere. Launched in 1990, the quarterly journal of the Women’s Association of the Islamic Republic of Iran (or Women’s Society of the IRI, Jami‘at-e Zanan-e Jomhuriy-ye Islami), a state-sponsored organization headed by Khomeini’s daughter, Zahra Mostafavi, appeared at irregular intervals under the editorship of Khomeini’s granddaughter, Fereshteh A‘arabi. Given its limited circulation and general lack of appeal, the journal was mainly employed for governmental and institutional research purposes.80
FROM ANTI-FEMINIST TO ISLAMIC FEMINIST
Given the fact that various Islamic precepts imped
e female equality, some scholars question the validity of Islamic feminism. However, it is possible to consider this unique brand of feminism as a viable movement—and a crucial first step toward gaining emancipation from outdated patriarchal doctrine. It is important to acknowledge that many devout women initially refrained from any association with the word “feminist.” Feminism was perceived as Western terminology fundamentally incompatible with, and irrelevant to Iranian women’s demands. Instead, religious women who sought change chose to employ more generic labels, such as “women’s rights activist” or “women’s rights advocate.”
By the mid-1990s, however, as a result of the government’s relentless discriminatory practices, a specifically feminist consciousness had gathered momentum. Among the many spokeswomen articulating a new spirit of righteous advocacy were:
♦Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, who wrote many articles for Zan-e Ruz during the early 1980s rejecting the term “feminism,” shifted her stance during the 1990s. As the editor of Farzaneh, she argued that “women’s issues and feminism must be studied systematically” and she aimed to “put pressure on the Islamic state by emphasizing that inequalities between men and women do not originate in the Quran but rather in the interpretation by religious authorities of the divine laws.”81
♦Zahra Rahnavard, in a 1999 interview with Zanan, expressed disappointment in the state’s treatment of women, using the term “the second sex,” the title of Simone de Beauvoir’s famous feminist manifesto.82
♦Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani, founder and director of Nashr-e Towseh Publishing House; founder of the feminist publication Jens-e Dovom (The Second Sex)
For me the struggle for women’s rights is life itself. So, like many other women’s rights activists, abstaining from such endeavors is basically impossible for me. While my fellow countrywomen suffer from discrimination and prejudice, my fight against such inequity is among the pillars of my life.83
♦Faezeh Hashemi who, during the early revolutionary years was adamant that the hijab was “an indisputable symbol for Muslim women” presented a far different picture in 1997, when author Jane Howard was introduced to her at a state dinner given by Khatami’s wife, Zohreh Sadeghi:
She was tall, leggy, with blond hair. She was wearing a long black velvet gown covered in sequins and split up thigh high.… Hers was the daring outfit of the evening.84
It is reasonable to assume that some female Muslim loyalists would adopt a discreet approach to women’s rights advocacy, rightfully fearing that moving too fast would obstruct the future of the movement. In fact, by avoiding Western terminology, these women were able to successfully renegotiate and even reverse some of the initial discriminatory laws and policies regarding employment and education, including permission for unmarried women to study abroad and to serve as “investigative” and “research” judges.85 And in 2010, when Zahra Rahnavard publicly denounced the state’s initiative to reintroduce a bill granting men the right to polygamy without the consent of their wives, she diplomatically employed the following rationale to demand that “experts and progressive-minded individuals” reassess the issue:
Calling off the bill from the Parliament’s agenda is not a feminist demand, but rather a symbol of the national demand for the prosperity of the Iranian nation and the stability of the Iranian families.86
Forged out of a common commitment to women’s rights, a united force has emerged between secular and religious women. The experience of women from traditional backgrounds was different from that of their mothers and grandmothers. Educated in a school system unintentionally influenced by a Western infrastructure, they had been exposed to a certain degree of modern ideology with regard to women’s roles. Their textbooks revealed a world in which women and men often shared the same activities and responsibilities. And their single-sex education motivated them to thrive in the classroom, resulting in a sense of self-determination and empowerment. Those who took on responsibilities outside the home during the Iran-Iraq War were further detached from the idealized version of the Muslim woman. And finally, having been inspired by many of the women’s publications that had begun advocating a more equitable role for females—including religious females—these women were ready for change.
While their political stance regarding women’s rights was not identical to that of their secular sisters, it was closer than it had ever been. Disappointed in the unfulfilled promises made to women during the pre-revolution fervor, Islamic women were on a new path, one that ran parallel to their nonreligious counterparts.
In assessing the burgeoning women’s rights movement in post-revolutionary Iran, it is important to understand that Islamic women’s commitment to reinterpreting religious texts is not only a significant means of liberation but also a strategic and exhilarating “opening act.”
As women’s rights advocates in Iran continue to bridge the gap between religious and secular perspectives, they are proving that a women’s movement based upon the shared goals of gender equality, female empowerment, reinterpretation of the Koran, and the eradication of misogynist policies is not only possible but inevitable.
In the following chapter, the history of Zanan magazine—Iran’s leading post-revolutionary women’s publication—will serve to illuminate the future of this movement.
Chapter Six
ZANAN MAGAZINE
It takes artfulness to address taboo issues.… Doing journalism in countries like ours—where … the system thinks if you say anything it’s going to fall apart—it’s like being a trapeze artist 1
Shahla Sherkat, award-winning journalist, founder and editor in chief of the feminist magazine Zanan (Women)
[Zanan was shut down for] endangering the spiritual, mental and intellectual health of its readers, and threatening psychological security by deliberately offering a dark picture of the Islamic Republic.2
Press Supervisory Board of Iran, backed by the Ministry of Culture
The men who try to stifle her or others similar to her should really keep in mind that these are demands and issues that their family members, their wives, their mothers, their sisters, and their daughters are dealing with, and just suppressing them is not going to make them go away.3
Susan Tahmasebi, women’s rights activist, regarding Shahla Sherkat’s relaunching of Zanan-e Emruz in 2014
As we discovered in the previous chapter, the post-revolutionary era in Iran engendered an unexpected sisterhood of religious and secular women. The flourishing of publications that catered to a broad female readership played a key role in solidifying this unlikely union. Although the word feminist was rarely used, a number of women’s magazines were committed to the free expression of ideas that challenged Iran’s patriarchal status quo. The publication having the greatest impact on Iranian women during this time was very likely Zanan (1992–2008).
Launched in February 1992 by Shahla Sherkat, Zanan was independent and reformist—and instantly classified as “a sophisticated literary magazine with an overtly feminist agenda.”4 The exceptional contribution of this leading feminist publication has been applauded for its daring ventures, including a predilection toward a modernist interpretation of gender issues in the areas of religion, law, culture, and education.5 Fiercely committed to women’s rights, deeply respectful of both religious and secular women, and unreservedly bold in its ideological objectives, Zanan, from its inception, offered its readers incisive articles and editorials that did not equivocate in confronting the male-controlled clerical establishment. In fact, in its very first editorial, the magazine challenged the reigning Islamic order with a pointedly progressive, feminist perspective:
It is time now for the sage and the intellectuals caring for religion, in their contemplation of fiq‘h6 and its edicts, to think more seriously about issues related to women, so that after centuries of the decline of Islam, the Muslim woman can rid herself of disorientation, distraction, and multiplicity of orientation [chandgunegi] toward her religion and at times even her God. This is to uncover
the kind, rational, and progressive vision of religion in the tired souls of women, thereby substituting love for force, respect for fear, prayer for hypocrisy, and tranquility for anxiety.7
This chapter will explore Zanan’s profound impact on the women of Iran, in spite of ongoing political challenges. We will learn how the magazine managed to impart a radically reformist ideology that represented a potent response to the critics of Islamic feminism in Iran. In considering its endurance and popularity, it will also be apparent why Zanan became a crucial part of consciousness-raising for adolescent females in Iran. Its pioneering and provocative articles revealed to readers that they shared a common cause, not only with women in their own country, but with all women seeking to overcome patriarchal oppression. It was in this very personal yet fundamental way that Zanan helped forge a global sisterhood linking Iran to the West.