Agreeing to Differ

The year 1979 was a challenging year for Iran, more specifically Muslim women in Iran. After the monarchy was replaced by an Islamic Republic, drastic things began to take place. Though religion was not forced upon any of the people, the shari’a law was declared the law of the land. The large group of women who supported the revolution unexpectedly found themselves as outcasts of the new government that began to restructure Iran, proceeding the feminist movement to emerge through the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Ziba Mir-Hosseini’s book gives a personal glimpse into the perspectives on women in Islam through the conversations she shared with Iranian religious thinkers from Qom as well as writings she read in journals, popular press, and other forms of media. One emphasis she makes is the differentiating laws for men and women regarding the same issues. The Hejab, blood money, and guidelines concerning marriage and divorce was often brought up. Mir-Hosseini strongly believes “the law should protect the weak; and social conditions mean that woman is the party in the marriage who needs more legal protection”. The day they are born, women are expected to marry and care for a man the rest of his life. Catering to his desires and demands, without defiance or questioning. Like many men in Qom, Mortazavi found Mir-Hosseini’s arguments redundant and struggled to find any urgent problems in her points. “If everyone had a perfect religious conscience, then our society would be paradise; but it doesn’t work like this…”, seemed to be his bland explanation as to why Iran was conducted the way it was and why such problems could not be solved.

Throughout the conversation, Mir-Hosseini finds herself speaking without any of her words being accounted for. As she consistently displays examples of the inequality and injustice between Islamic men and women, Mortazavi seemed reluctant and complacent to see her point of view. “He was recycling an old argument, which I had heard so many times I knew each line by heart”, Mir-Hosseini reflected. The old argument was that men are by nature polygamous and Islamic law is in coherent with nature, as a result men’s right to polygamy “maintains order in society and protects women”. Mortazavi’s inability to fully grasp the importance of equality for women is in part due to his gender. Growing up, it is likely he never experienced the oppression and unfair treatment women often go through on a daily basis. Mir-Hosseini proceeds to tell him, “Your perspective on the issue…is that of a man. Mine is that of woman and I make no apologies for it”.

Mir-Hosseini’s conversation with Mortazavi is a discourse many women in the U.S. can relate to in some way. Though the feminist movement and fight for equal rights has gained face in the past few years, women’s voices are still not being heard and their arguments are still not being taken seriously. Women around the world have gained opportunities and rights, at one point in time Mir-Hosseini never would have been able to even have the conversation she did with Mortazavi, but there is still a long way to go on the road to complete justice.