| Revision as of 21:59, 29 June 2007 editSangak (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers8,004 edits mnr← Previous edit | Revision as of 08:24, 1 July 2007 edit undoThe Behnam (talk | contribs)6,824 editsm that doesnt make any sense, im surprised i didnt contest it earlierNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| ] period, from a wall painting in ] Palace, ].]] | ] period, from a wall painting in ] Palace, ].]] | ||
| '''Iranian women''' (or '''Persian women''') are ] of or from traditional ]n or modern ] culture. Although Persian women (women of Persia) are often viewed as Iranian, they are not necessarily from modern-day Iran and can be from a variety of different countries |
'''Iranian women''' (or '''Persian women''') are ] of or from traditional ]n or modern ] culture. Although Persian women (women of Persia) are often viewed as Iranian, they are not necessarily from modern-day Iran and can be from a variety of different countries. The term refers to women who practice ], speak ]s and live mainly throughout the ]. | ||
| ==History== | ==History== | ||
Revision as of 08:24, 1 July 2007
Iranian women (or Persian women) are women of or from traditional Persian or modern Iranian culture. Although Persian women (women of Persia) are often viewed as Iranian, they are not necessarily from modern-day Iran and can be from a variety of different countries. The term refers to women who practice Iranian culture, speak Iranian languages and live mainly throughout the Iranian cultural continent.
History
Pre-Islamic Iran
Archeological excavations at Shahr-i Sokhta "Burnt City," a prehistoric settlement that is today in the Sistan-Baluchistan province of southeastern Iran, has revealed that the women of that 4th-3rd millennium BCE community held high socio-economic status. Of the seals discovered in graves there, 90% were in the possession of women, who in turn made up over 60% of the population. The distribution of the seals, which as instruments of trade and government represented economic and administrative control, reveals that these women were the more powerful group in their prehistoric society.
"The position of woman in ancient Iran was apparently in nowise inferior to her standing in the Vedic times of early India. As among other oriental nations, however, submission to her lord and master is taken for granted, and the woman who is 'obedient to her husband' comes in for a special meed of praise in the Avesta and elsewhere; but it is perfectly evident, as a rule, there was not that subjection which results in loss of personality and individuality."
The early Achaemenid-era Persepolis fortification and treasury tablets "reveal three different terms of reference for women, mutu, irti and duksis." The first refers to ordinary (non-royal) women; the second to unmarried members of the royal family; and the last to married women of the royalty. Such differentiated terminology shows the sigificance of marital status and of a woman's relationship to the king. The tablets also reveal that women of the royal household traveled extensively and often personally administered their own estates. The queen and her ladies-in-waiting are known to have played polo against the emperor and his courtiers. The only limits on the extent of the authority exercised by the king's mother were set by the monarch himself.
In the tablets, "non-royals and the ordinary workers are mentioned by their rank in the specific work group or workshops they were employed. The rations they received are based on skill and the level of responsibility they assumed in the workplace. The professions are divided by gender and listed according to the amount of ration. Records indicate that some professions were undertaken by both sexes while others were restricted to either male or female workers. There are male and female supervisors at the mixed workshops as evident by the higher rations they have received with little difference in the amount of rations between the two sexes. There are also occasions where women listed in the same category as men received less rations and vice versa. Female managers have different titles presumably reflecting their level of skill and rank. The highest-ranking female workers in the texts are called arashshara (great chief). They appear repeatedly in the texts, were employed at different locations and managed large groups of women children and sometimes men working in their units. They usually receive high rations of wine and grains exceeding all the other workers in the unit including the males." In addition, pregnant women also received higher rations than others. Women with new-born children also received extra rations for a period of one month.
Some classicists argue that it was Cyrus the Great who twelve centuries before Islam, established the custom of covering women to protect their chastity. According to their theory, the veil passed from the Achaemenids to the Hellenistic Seleucids. They, in turn, handed it to the Byzantines, from whom the Arab conquerors inherited it, transmitting it over the vast reaches of the Arab world.
The Sassanid princess Purandokht, daughter of Khosrau II, ruled the Persian empire for almost two years before resigning. Also, during the Sassanian dynasty many of the Iranian soldiers captured by Romans were women who were fighting along with the men.
Persian women are depicted in numerous masterpieces of Persian paintings and miniatures. Drawing a Persian girl dressed in colors with Persian wine at hand has been a classic style for portraying love. However nudity can not be seen in these works in contrast to Western paintings with religious themes or ancient Greek style.
After the Islamic Conquest
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
Under the Shah
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
Under the Islamic Republic of Iran
See also: Human rights in Iran § Gender Issues, and Persian women's movementIran has been, since 1979, an Islamic Republic. The impact on women of the Islamic revolution of Iran has been particularly mixed. One of the striking features of the revolution was the large scale participation of women — women from traditional backgrounds — in demonstrations. Some of this liberating effect has continued on, with, for example, large numbers of women in the civil service and higher education, and 14 women being elected to the Islamic Consultative Assembly in 1996. Also there are women in Police of Iran for dealing with crimes committed by women. Women, make up 27% of the Iranian labor force and percentage of all Iranian women who are economically active has more than doubled from 6.1% in 1986 to 13.7% in 2000. On the other hand, the Islamic revolution is ideologically committed to inequality for women in inheritance and other areas of the the civil code; and especially to segregation of the sexes. Everything from "schoolrooms to ski slopes to public buses" is strictly segregated. In the first years after revolution female who didn't covered all part of their body except hands and face — is subject to punishment of up to 70 lashes or 60 days imprisonment.
Several women have had high-ranking posts in the government or the parliament since the Iranian revolution. Tahereh Saffarzadeh, Masumeh Ebtekar, Marzieh Dabbaq and Zahra Rahnavard are a few examples.
Iranian women's movement
See main article: Iranian women's movement
Iranian women's movement involves the Iranian women's experience of modernism, through which the concept of "Modern Iranian woman" and its associated art, science, literature, poetry, and political structures have been evolving since the 19th century. Iranian women account for a remarkable fraction of intellectual circles in Iran and consequently played roles in forming Iranian identity in modern time.
During last few decades Iranian women had significant presence in Iran's scientific movement, art movement, literary new wave and new wave of Iranian cinema. According to the research ministry of Iran, about 6% of full professors, 8% of associate professors, and 14% of assistant professors were women in the 1998-99 academic year. However, women accounted for 56% of all students in the natural sciences, including one in five Ph.D. students.
Persian women's day
In ancient times, 29th of Bahman (18 February) was considered Persian women's day but many people still celebrate this day. History of the celebration dates back to Zoroastrian tradition. International Women's Day is also celebrated by Iranians specially by people involved in Persian women's movement. However the official womans day in Iran is on birthday of Prophet's daughter Fatimah.
Gallery
:See also Persian miniature
-
Traditional image of a Persian woman holding a cup of wine, as depicted at Hasht-behesht palace, Isfahan, 17th century Iran.
- Empress Soraya on the cover of an Italian magazine. Empress Soraya on the cover of an Italian magazine.
-
A Sassanid era mosaic excavated at Bishapur. This one is kept at The Louvre.
-
A Qajari Persian woman, seen here smoking the traditional Qalyan.
Notes
- ^ CHN Press. "Women Held Power In Burnt City". Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- CHN Press. "Female population predominant in 5000-year-old Burnt City". Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- Williams Jackson, A. V. (1896). "The Moral and Ethical Teachings
of the Ancient Zoroastrian Religion". International Journal of Ethics. 7 (1): 55–62.
{{cite journal}}: line feed character in|title=at position 33 (help) p. 59. - ^ Price, Massoume. "Women's Lives in Ancient Persia".
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessed=ignored (help) - Harrison, Frances. "Polo comes back home to Iran". BBC News.
- Cotterell, Arthur (1998). From Aristotle to Zoroaster. ISBN 0-684-85596-8.
- Mackey, Sandra & Harrop, Scott (1996). The Iranians: Persia, Islam and the Soul of a Nation. Penguin.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - =Dodgeon M. H. and Lieu, S. N. C. (1991). The Roman Eastern Frontiers and the Persian Wars (AD 226-363); A Documentary History. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-10317-7.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) pp. 24, 67, 184, 197 and 307. - Graham Iran (1980) p. 227.
- Adult education offers new opportunities and options to Iranian women
- Women Police in Iran
- Iran's thin black line
- Wright, The Last Great Revolution (2000), p. 136.
References
- Piyrnia, Mansoureh. Salar Zanana Iran. 1995. Maryland: Mehran Iran Publishing.
- Brosius, Maria. Women in Ancient Persia, 559-331 B.C. Oxford Classical Monographs. Oxford Oxford University Press (UK), 1998.
- Farman Farmaian, Sattareh. 1992. Daughter of Persia: A Woman's Journey from Her Father's Harem Through the Islamic Revolution. New York: Three Rivers Press.
See also
External links
- Women in Iranian society (in Persian)
- Gathering of Persian women in Dushanbeh (in Persian)
- Ms. magazine article