Download Touba H., the strongest woman I know, my mom

I am sitting in a computer lab in University of New Mexico and I think how I got here? An an
Iranian woman, I am living a dream. Education is highly valued in the Iranian society mainly
because it is perceived as one of the few ways to climb up the social ladder. Hammond’s (1997)
definition of schooling as the “literate, individualistic and secular” applies to the Iranian idea of
schooling. “Children are seen as future adults who must be taught certain skills to succeed and
the planning of lessons and activities is a constant practice” ( p.217). Schools are often addressed
as one of the most powerful organs of the Islamic Republic of Iran because of their influence and
power in creating the next generation’s society. And that is why schools are saturated with the
Islamic ideology. In this paper, I explain how Iran’s education system is functioning as one of
the main agents to oppress women and impose traditional gender roles in form of producing what
Mehran (2009) named “proper woman”.
First I should explain what I mean when I refer to Islam in the Iranian society. Islam has been an
official religion in Iran since 640 AD. In 16th century, the Safavid dynasty, established Shia’
Islam which resulted in the conversion of most Iranians to Shia Islam. {Shia (mostly Twelvers)
believe that the Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet
Muhammad. According to the theology of Twelvers, the Twelve Imams are exemplary human
individuals who not only rule over the community in justice, but also are able to keep and
interpret sharia and the esoteric meaning of the Quran. The words and deeds (Sunnah) of
Muhammad and the Imams are a guide and model for the community to follow; as a result,
Muhammad and the Imams must be free from error and sin, known as Ismah or infallibility, and
must be chosen by divine decree, or nass, through Muhammad. } After the Islamic revolution in
1979, Iran became the first country to have an Islamic democracy. The Islamic government is
based on the law of Sharia, and those who have governmental posts should have knowledge of
Sharia and the government’s ruler should be Faghih “jurist in Islamic canon law, whose
characteristics best qualify him to lead the community.” {cite the definition of faghih from
Encyclopedia Britanica}
Education system in Iran is divided in two parts; K-12 which is supervised by the ministry of
education and higher education which is under the supervision of Science and Technology
ministry and Ministry of health and medical education. The elementary, middle and high schools
are segregated based on gender for students and teachers. And the universities are national (free)
and coeducational. According to UNICEF statistics (2008-2012), the literacy rate among the
young adults (15-24) in Iran is %98.8 for men and %98.5 for women.
After the revolution, the education system changed a lot especially for women. As Mehran
(2009) explains compulsory veiling, banning co-education at the pre-university level, reinforcing
gendered practices by determining “appropriate” fields of study for women, compiling different
technical-vocational textbooks for girls and boys, and barring unmarried women from studying
abroad using state scholarships are some examples of post-revolutionary educational policies to
ensure that women do what is deemed “proper” (p.543).
As Mehran (1991) explains, the main task of the education system in Iran after the 1979 Islamic
revolution, is to create a new Muslim woman. The ideal woman is to be modeled on the basis of
both the Islamic understanding of the “appropriate” role and function of women in society, and
the political requirements of post-revolutionary Iran. The ideal Islamic woman in post
revolutionary Iran has been assigned two roles that seem contradictory. The dual role as a
dedicated mother and wife and a fighter against tyranny and injustice is presented by the Islamic
Republic as an ideal. The post revolution education has focused on gender segregation in
educational environments, the veiling, and the teaching of traditional values and gender roles in
text books. But the most important change is the segregation of academic and occupational
pursuits. In an effort to direct pupils towards “suitable” studies and professions at the guidance
cycle level, where the students choose future direction of study, the Ministry of education has
prepared different sets of Study Profession for male and female students which reinforces the
traditional female occupations. Mehran suggests that we look at the role of the family as an
influential agent of socialization and the need for educated mothers to hold that part of the
society strong. {Best quote: Khomeini: “if women change, society changes”}
Mehran explains the characteristics of the new Muslim woman as she finds different comments
of authorities on the matter of education of female students. [use khomeyni and bahonar’s
comments on the education for women]
Touba H., the strongest woman I know, my mom, was born march 30th 1948. Touba was a
second child of a progressive man. Her father, Alireza, was a businessman who educate himself
by reading philosophy and literature. He was a huge advocate for higher education for his sons
and daughters at a time that few people believed in education in a small town like Birjand.
Touba had the opportunity to finish high school with 10 other girls in her class. She was the only
one, who got to leave her house and go to Tehran University. Her father spent a lot of money,
paying for private dormitory and stylish clothes so that she would blend in with other students.
My mom finished her undergraduate degree in 1972, and she started teaching in a high school in
Theran and focusing on raising her two children.
Alireza’s view of education turned out to be the cornerstone of his children’s trust in education
as the way to go beyond the societal inequalities (class, ) and be successful. Growing up in big
family with three sisters, my mother always insisted on the importance of education.
“You need a good job to be economically independent. You need to be able to support your
family. A man can do anything to get money, but as woman you need a great degree to get a
good job!” These were my mother’s words, and the very first advice I got from her.
The history of women’s (formal) education[schooling] in Iran is relatively new. According to
Shavarini (2006) “modern education” for women as prescribed by countries such as United
States of America, England, France, and Russia appeared in Iran in 1835. However, all these
schools were private and Muslim girls were denied education. It was 1899 that the first school
for Muslim girls opened in Tehran, the Capital. By the 1920s there were approximately 58
schools in Tehran. The King, Reza Khan, of forced a rule of schooling for Iranian girls and
women. However, the force caused a political and social resistance that came from the Muslim
clergy(citations, Sharavini, Mehran). Explain the clergy’s power and their influence on the
political events...For the conservative Iranian Muslims at the time, girls’ education was only
desirable when it was in harmony with Islamic studies which . So it took more than a century for
Iranian women to participate in schooling in substantial numbers(p.191).
Mohamad Reza Shah of Pahlavi dynasty continued his father's political agenda in modernizing
Iran using Western development models for Iran’s advancement (Sharavini, 2006, p.191). Before
the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979, female enrollment in universities had reached a peak of
30.9 percent. However, according to Sharavini (2006), the statistics ignored a vast number of
Iranian women who were not represented in the educational system. For example, rural women
or the more religious families decided not to send their daughters to Pahlavi’s secular schools
(p.192).
I wanted to go to school to learn math and science, to become a doctor, and find a good job. I
saw my mom, working harder than my dad and raising us on her own. I saw her leaving her
home town because she could not stand the conservative rules. I watched her get into trouble
with the schools she worked at, because she wouldn’t wear “chador” (a large piece of cloth that
is wrapped around the head and upper body leaving only the face exposed, worn especially by
Muslim women). I learnt a lot about my society by listening to the conversations and discussions
in my house.