Iranian Women Growing in Influence

I stumbled upon this article the other day. It claims that demographic trends in Iran have been influencing the politics of the country since the 70’s and continue to do so now.

When hordes of young students participated in protests that brought down the Shah in the late 70’s, the birth rate was 6.5 children per woman. That’s plummeted, to 1.7 today according to the CIA’s World Fact Book.

This article claims it could be even lower than that,

Philip Jenkins, professor of history and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University, claims from the latest U.N. data that the real fertility rate may already be the lowest in the world at 0.66 children per woman.

The high birthrate in the 70’s lead to a large number of youth in the 80’s, giving Iran the soldiers needed to fend off Saddam’s army, and the activists to overthrow the Shah. This latest demographic shift might has similarly revolutionary results, and if so, could be influencing current Iranian nuclear policy.

The low fertility rates are probably related to the role of women in Iranian society. After the Iran-Iraq war, the state created sexual education and contraception, as the article points out “Iran remains the only country in the world in which a young couple before marriage must both undergo courses in contraception and family planning.”

In addition, the governments educational expansion has benefited women more than men with up to 70% of college graduates being female. The result is a more educated Iranian woman, sexually, occupationally, and politically. It seems clear to me that this would threaten the patriarchal power structure in Iran, and create a pressure for practical change.

The article is more concerned with the currently large supply of young men,

There is a controversy about this. Jenkins thinks that the demographic shifts mean that Iran is likely to become a stable, placid and peaceful country. Others fear that today's plentiful availability of cannon-fodder means Iran could be highly aggressive over the coming decade.

But there are also domestic implications to bear in mind. Large numbers of unemployed young men tend to be a potentially destabilizing force in society and to be associated with increased levels of crime and violence, at least until they are socialized by marriage and the responsibilities of parenthood. But with marriage in decline and fewer children being born, the fewer men are likely to be tamed by the responsibilities of family life.

Life in a Theocracy: Iran cracks down on “vices”.

In today’s installment of Life in a Theocracy, we travel to Persia where the Islamic government enforces Sharia law.

Maybe you’ve had to dress up for church, didn’t that suck? That’s the way it is in Iran, 24/7 now. Although there has been periods of liberal enforcement, the Iranian Police has announced renewed efforts to crack down on “vices”.

The police are warning they will deal seriously with any women who dare to wear short trousers, skimpy overcoats or skirts that are revealingly transparent or have slits in them.

Can you imagine being an Iranian Police officer, having to spend your timing judging the transparency of skirts and the skimpiness of overcoats? Do you think any of them signed up for that? The regulations continue…

Wearing boots instead of full length trousers will not be tolerated, nor will hats instead of headscarves. Indeed, the police stipulate that small headscarves are out - the scarf must cover a woman's head and neck completely.

The article doesn’t mention this but this crackdown occurred for two purposes. One establishes the dominance of Iranian patriarchal religious culture over women and their habits. When the Imams control women’s fashion, and sexual behavior, they control the society. Another purpose is to push back against the slow intrusion of western culture. Since western culture allows human nature its most free expression, western dress and trends constantly seep into Iranian society. This is repudiated by the government, sometimes in formal enforcement actions like this one. Both the power of women and western culture in Iran are threats to the ruling class, and as a result they were cracked down on. Increased repression shows that there is instability. We might be seeing the beginning of another revolutionary period in Iran.

Mahmoud Intolerant-ijad pt. 1

Maybe now isn’t a good time to be whipping up anti-Iranian sentiment. Given the fact that our president seems to be chomping at the bit to team up with Israel and bomb Iran back to the dark ages, maybe I should write an essay about some topic with conciliatory possibility.

Not today. Today I write about life inside a Muslim theocracy. Turns out Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad likes Islam quite a bit. So much in fact that the largest religious minority, with around 17% of the population, is being systematically targeted for persecution.


Mark Kirk of the Chicago Sun Times reports:

“The Central Security Office of Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology ordered 81 Iranian universities to expel any student discovered to be a Baha'i.”

“The Iranian Public Intelligence and Security Force ordered 25 industries to deny business licenses to Baha'is. […] Banks are closing Baha'i accounts and refusing loans to Baha'i applicants. Just last week, the Iranian government bulldozed a Baha'i cemetery, erasing the memory of thousands of Iranian citizens.”

Diane Ala'i, the representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations said,

“Put in a historical context, these kinds of attacks too often have been a prelude to campaigns of oppression and violence that are far worse.”

(Next installment: The Bloodthirsty Baha'i's Barbarous Beliefs)

Mahmoud Intolerant-ijad pt. 2

(This is a continuation of a previous post)

Abdul-Baha Abbas (1844-1921), eldest son of Baha'i founder Baha'u'llah

And what do the Baha’i believe that is so egregious as to prompt pseudo-genocide?

They believe that there is only one god, and that he is every god, he has appeared to many people in many different forms, as Jesus, Mohamed, etc. to give messages important to the time. They believe that all religion is one, and that people are unified.

Among their core beliefs are;

“The independent search after truth, unfettered by superstition or tradition”
“The oneness of the entire human race”
“The equality of men and women”
“The introduction of compulsory education”
“The abolition of the extremes of wealth and poverty”
“The glorification of justice as the ruling principle in human society”
“The establishment of a permanent and universal peace as the supreme goal of all mankind”

Sheesh! What a bunch of jerks!

But seriously, this religion from an atheist’s view is pretty top notch. It preaches togetherness and world unity, regardless of its superstitious nature, not an altogether bad message for the Middle East. It’s important to remember in these dark times what true tyranny looks like. Both so we can appreciate what we have, and to reminded us of the cost of losing it.

video of the damaged cemetery