Dreyfuss and Iran’s “Women Commandos”

Last updated on: July 20, 2009 at 12:00 am by faith

Dreyfuss and Iran’s “Women Commandos” 2009-07-20T00:00:12-04:00 faith

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

If you’ve been following coverage of the fallout from the recent Iranian elections, you have been bound to see images of women in the streets as part of protests against the election results. In fact, the Western media has put a feminine face on much of its coverage of what is happening in Iran connecting feminism once more to Western interests in Iran and the region as a whole.

Robert Dreyfuss’s op-ed for The Nation explores women’s role in the recent rebellion as well as the women’s rights movement in Iran, which was in existence long before the recent election and whose goals coincide with the goals of the overall reform movement in Iran. Dreyfuss uses his attendance of a recent panel discussion at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington D.C., which featured an impressive group of analysts who were all women: Pari Esfandiari, Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, Nayereh Tohidi, Norma Moruzzi and Jaleh Lackner-Gohari. Dreyfuss used this to segue into a further discussion about women’s rights in Iran.

The article itself gives a very positive view of Iranian women, portraying them as active participants in the struggle to gain gender equality and a more open political system in the Islamic Revolution of 1979. In fact, the op-ed gives a nuanced portrait of Iran, citing panelist Norma Moruzzi, who noted that in some areas, such as literacy, Iranian women have reached parity with men. She also stressed that since 1979, Iran “has invested in education, health care, and family planning, in a way that has allowed women to flourish.”

Reading the rest of Dreyfuss’s piece, I got the sense that he was more concerned with how the women’s rights movement in Iran would affect U.S. foreign policy toward Iran. This is understandable, considering that The Nation is ultimately concerned with politics. Still, I do wish that the issue of women’s rights in Iran and other Muslim countries in the region was not always connected to American foreign policy and that we would care about these issues simply on their own merit. This line of thinking has colored Western opinion about gender norms in the region since the rise of colonialism and has made the concern of people in the West about gender rights in the region appear disingenuous.

Dreyfuss asks towards the end of the piece what the U.S. should do now. How does the progress of women in Iran affect the U.S.’s actions towards Iran? I agree with Dreyfuss’s conclusion that the U.S. has to engage in talks with Iran. Dreyfuss’s reasoning is sound: talks with Iran help to eradicate the isolation that for so long has been a hindrance to the gender rights movement in Iran.

“And, when I asked about President Obama’s options now, the entire panel came out against US engagement with Iran, for fear that by so doing the United States will “legitimize” the regime. “Now is not the time for Obama to sit down with this government,” said Moruzzi. She suggested that the leader, Ali Khamenei, and President Ahmadinejad see talks with the United States as the “big carrot” that could restore their discredited regime to legitimacy. Others on the panel agreed.

To me, this is utterly wrongheaded, and self-defeating. If Iran wants to talk, President Obama can embrace such talks on a realist, state-to-state basis, without endorsing the regime’s bad behavior. To reject an offer from Iran to talk, now, would fatally undermine Obama’s carefully constructed opening to Tehran, pushing Iran deeper into isolation, strengthening the hand of the radical right, and weakening the very reform movement that human rights groups want to enhance.”

Dreyfuss seems genuinely concerned with how U.S. foreign policy can help further the cause of human and gender rights in Iran. Although his tone seems slightly paternalistic (“without endorsing the regime’s bad behavior”), his conclusion focuses on the potential effect of U.S. foreign policy on gender rights in Iran and also shows a respect for Iran as a nation that has been lacking in the past, a respect that will hopefully benefit Iranian women in the future.

Previous Post

July 19, 2009

Khuda Hafiz

Next Post

July 21, 2009 Free Shadi Sadr, Uphold Women’s Rights

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advertisements Art/Theater Books/Magazines Cinema Comics/Cartoons Culture/Society Events Fashion Film Friday Links Merchandise/Commodities MMW Announcements MMW Highlights Music/Radio News Photography Politics Profile Ramadan 2012 Ramadan 2013 Ramadan 2014 Ramadan 2015 Roundtable Satire Social Media Sports Technology/Science Television Uncategorized Video Web

Select a Month November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What type of building was Jesus born in?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A castle A cave A stable A tent