Iranin naisten asema, oikeudet ja poliittinen toiminta

Abstract

Tutkimus käsittelee Iranin yhteiskuntaa ja se on poliittista tutkimusta. Tutkimuksen pääaiheena ovat Iranin naisten asema ja oikeudet. Se ottaa mukaan myös muita Iranin yhteiskuntaan liittyviä asioita kuten historiaa, kulttuuria ja politiikkaa. Irania on hallinnut sekä monarkia että nykyinen islamilainen tasavalta. Monarkioilla on ollut yksinvalttiaan oikeudet niin kuin ne ovat myös Islamilaisella tasavallalla. Oikeuksia ei ole saatu kansalta demokraattisesti, vaan ne on otettu pakolla tai hämäyksellä.

Tutkimus on laadullinen tutkimus ja se käsittelee erilaisia tekstejä. Tutkimuksen materiaalina ovat kirjat, lehdet ja internetsivut. Nämä artikkelit, uutiset ja raportit antavat mahdollisuuden tutkita Iranin yhteiskuntaa, joka on laaja ja monikansallinen omine tapoineen ja kulttuureineen. Iranissa ei helppo toimia politiikassa varsinkaan toisinajattelijoilla. Valtion keinot kontrolloida ja rajoittaa poliittista toimintaa ovat mm. vankila, kidutus ja murhaaminen. Tämän vuoksi kansalla ei ole mahdollisuutta kertoa vapaasti omia mielipiteitänsä. Toisinajattelijat eivät kuitenkaan ole olleet hiljaa, vaan ovat kirjoittaneet ja tuoneet esiin Iranin tapahtumia. Tämä tutkimus analysoi näitä kirjoituksia ja oman havaintojen ja näiden kirjoitusten avulla löytää naisten asemaan liittyviä ongelmia Iranissa.

Tutkimuksen pääaihe on naisten toiminta Iranissa sekä oman että koko yhteiskunnan puolesta. Naiset ovat Iranissa valtava kansanosa, mutta heidän asemansa ja oikeudet eivät ole hyviä. Tämän vuoksi naiset tukijoineen ovat taistelleet kauan. Nämä yritykset ovat tuoneet tuloksia, mutta tutkimuksen mukaan ne eivät ole aina olleet positiivisia päämäärästä huolimatta. Naisten taistelujoukot ovat olleet hyvin kirjava. Tässä taistelussa on ollut mukana islamilaisia, länsimielisiä, feministejä ja vasemmistolaisia. Tutkimus tuo esiin osan näistä naistenjoukoista ja heidän toiminnastaan Iranin historian ja lähihistorian aikana.

Iran is an old country with a rich history. During the long history of Iran, many conflicts have occurred and several kings have dominated for long periods. Iranian kings attacked other countries and defended their own region. The kings and other leaders had a great influence in Iran and on Iranians lives. There were many revolutions in Iran for the freedom and equality of the people. In the beginning of the 19th century, there was a constitutional revolution in Iran, aimed a bringing the Iranian monarchy under a constitution. The constitution revolution ended the Qhajar dynasty. Reza Shah came to the throne in 1925 and started the Pahlavi dynasty, which ruled until 1979. At that time occurred the Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini. Iran is still a developing country, which means that it does not have a high level of industry. However, the country is very rich natural resources. Mineral oil is a major source of energy in Iran but has not meant welfare for the ordinary Iranian people. The Iranian government and the people who have power use these resources for their own aims. During the period of Pahlavi family Iran tried to westernise, but still the kings had absolute power and the non-liberal system did not allow the country any opportunity for progress.

This research is about Iranian women and their position in the country in recent history. Women in Iran are a great part of population. They exert Iranian society, but their rights are not like those women in developed countries. They work inside and outside home, but there is great inequality with men in the home and in society. Why it is so in Iran? This research aims to find some answers to this and some related issues. Research about Iranian women is problematic. One problem is the lack of democracy in Iran, which inhibits direct research. It is not possible to interview women inside Iran. Human rights were a catastrophe during the Palhavi dynasty and still in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The human rights roles that many countries like Iran have to use do not work. Torture, killing and government violence all occur in Iran and other dictatorship.

Inequality between men and women begins in early childhood in the family. Traditional families and agricultural families prefer boys. In the old and patriarchal culture, men have more rights than women. Elsewhere agrarian societies need boys to work on the land, for this reason they like boys more than girls. In traditional society, people think that girls should marry and be guests in the parental house, but boys stay at home after marriage. Religion is one strong influence in Iranian society. The main religion is Islam and twelve Shia Imams are a major part of Islam in Iran. Although there are Jews, Christians and Zarathoshtrans, the government uses Shia like an official religion. This means that each law depends on Shia. People s clothes and behaviour inside and outside homes must fulfil the demands Shia. Women s clothing is especially important to the Shia clerics. The black chador is the garment that all women must use outside their homes and in official places. In this system, women cannot be great leaders like presidents and regional leaders. Women are in the role of agents and they try to change society. Many Islamic women are involved in this struggle. They are not opposed to religion, but they do not accept the religion interpretations, which try to deprive women of their rights.

Many left-wing political parties are fighting for equality and women rights in Iran. Women s participation in these parties struggles is strong, but they do not get leading positions inside the parties. For this reason, many women try to fight for get own rights independently. Feminism has a strong place in Iran, because many women call themselves feminists and tries to use feminist arguments and literature. In other ways many women struggle for their rights without any ideology and political parties.