HUMAN 1C Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iranian Revolution, Reza Shah
Lecture #15: National Turmoil and the Fate of Women
Women without Men and the 1979 Iranian revolution, the revolution that brought down the
monarchy
● The Iranian revolution was one of the most bloodless revolution in history. There had to
be a lot of harmony between different groups in order to shut down the economy to force
the government to collapse.
● “...both women and men, considered the veil a part of the superstructure or a secondary
phenomenon which bothered only Western feminists or a few Iranian women
intellectuals. The immediate concern was to rid the country of the Shah’s regime and his
imperialist supporters...many women...took up the veil as a symbol of solidarity and
opposition to the Shah.”
Mohammad Reza Shah leaves Iran on January 16, 1979
● The Shah never returns and dies in exile.
● Soon after he leaves Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini (the religious leader of the Iranian
revolution) arrives in Tehran on February 1, 1979
● The Shah asks Saddam Hussein to expel Khomeini to stop the flow of cassette tapes.
But in Paris he had an even broader audience because the international news went to
him to get his perspective.
● Khomeini declined any position of power at first…
○ “...woman must have a say in the fundamental destiny of the country...we want
our women to attain the high rank of true humanity...They wanted to treat women
as a mere object, a possession, but Islam grants woman a say in all affairs just
as it grants a man a say”
○ Khomeini reversed the Shah’s law, and made conservative veiling compulsory for
women. Every women regardless of religion/ethnicity must cover their hair, cover
their flesh, and wear modest clothing.
○ Women protest the imposition of compulsory veiling in March 1979. Their
protests had no effect and the veil was still compulsory.
● Not all women protested Khomeini’s decree
○ “A veilless woman became the personification of cultural imperialism” - Milani
○ At the time of Reza Shah, when women were allowed to dress differently and
have an education, they still had to adhere to modesty and chastity and were
viewed as guardians of the national identity.
○ For some, the battle had not ended, and Iran needed to continue to fight
imperialism.
Magical Realism
● Magical realism - “A kind of modern fiction in which fabulous and fantastical events are
included in a narrative that otherwise maintains the ‘reliable’ tone of objective realistic
report”
● Gabriel Garcia Marquez - “...impossible things happen constantly, and quite plausibly,
out in the open sun...He is not writing about Middle-earth, but about the one we all
inhabit”
Rahimieh’s Argument
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lecture #15: national turmoil and the fate of women. Women without men and the 1979 iranian revolution, the revolution that brought down the monarchy. The iranian revolution was one of the most bloodless revolution in history. There had to be a lot of harmony between different groups in order to shut down the economy to force the government to collapse. Both women and men, considered the veil a part of the superstructure or a secondary phenomenon which bothered only western feminists or a few iranian women intellectuals. The immediate concern was to rid the country of the shah"s regime and his imperialist supportersmany womentook up the veil as a symbol of solidarity and opposition to the shah. Mohammad reza shah leaves iran on january 16, 1979. The shah never returns and dies in exile. Soon after he leaves iran, ayatollah khomeini (the religious leader of the iranian revolution) arrives in tehran on february 1, 1979.
