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Saqi Laqa’i

The body of a woman is still – if we don’t say the most important, but it can be boldly said – one of the most fundamental political issues in societies governed by religious ideology. Control over a woman’s body, from the choice of clothing to the extent and type of her presence in society, to male sexual exploitation and fertility, is one of the main topics in the policies of religious governments like the Islamic Republic of Iran.

This issue has always been a subject of dispute between the people and the officials throughout the life of the Islamic Republic, and at various levels, there have been resistances and struggles against government laws and perspectives.

In fact, returning society to modernization in Iran before the revolution was not and is not a simple task to adhere to the religious laws that were established for the ruling system in Iran one thousand and four hundred years ago. Even with current limitations, progressive movements such as feminism are active in Iran and beyond that, women in general have always resisted against strict laws, including the hijab.

Diane Ravitch, in the introduction to the book “A Woman’s Right to Her Body” by Margaret Sanger, says: “The fundamental freedom of the world is the freedom of women. A free generation cannot be born from mothers in chains. A woman in chains cannot make choices, but rather passes on a part of her bondage to her daughters and sons. A woman who does not own her own body and has no control over it cannot call herself free.” (1) Perhaps not in a theoretical sense, but generally women in Iran during the establishment of the Islamic Republic had come to understand this concept and it became a fundamental barrier against the complete control of the government over women’s bodies; although the government also placed the suppression of women and control over their bodies at the top of its agenda.

The body of a woman in the religion of Islam.

In Islam, women and their bodies are faced with many restrictions, and the most prominent of these restrictions is the hijab. According to Islamic standards, women must cover their entire face and hands up to the wrists, so that the contours of their bodies are not visible. Some Muslims even consider it unacceptable for women to show their faces and hands, and cover them as well. In Islam, a woman is referred to as “awrah” (something that should be covered). Morteza Motahhari states in his book “The Issue of Hijab”: “The majority of scholars believe that a woman’s body, except for her face and hands up to the wrists, is considered awrah.”

In another narration from the book “Bihar al-Anwar”, it has been mentioned:

“The Messenger of God asked his companions: What is a woman? They replied: A wife. He then asked: Who is closer to God, a woman or a man? They did not know. Fatima heard this and said: A woman is closer to God when she is in the depths of her home.” (Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, p. 92)

“The Messenger of God said: Women are a source of temptation, keep them confined in their homes.” (Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 100, p. 250).

According to Dehkhoda’s dictionary, “aurat” is an act that a person is ashamed of. In the specific Persian culture, this word means “ugly deed” and “covering the position of the mentioned abomination” is to be covered.

In Islamic culture, a woman is summarized in one of the roles of mother, wife, daughter, and sister. In fact, a man in the family must have “guardianship” over a woman; otherwise, the claim of guardianship belongs to her.

Controlling women’s bodies is the key to controlling society in the Islamic Republic.

Examples of the Islamic perspective on the female body, which were mentioned above, form the basis of legislation in ideological governments.

After the 1957 revolution in Iran, the hijab was not immediately enforced. Initially, Ayatollah Khomeini interpreted the presence of unveiled women in government offices as being “naked” and said, “The Islamic ministries should not be a place of sin. Women should go, but they should be veiled. There is no problem with them going and working, but they must be veiled according to Sharia law.” This was a way to prevent women from entering government offices without proper covering, and after that, social pressures increased and gradually women were restricted more. In 1983, the first law regarding the hijab was passed. According to Article 102 of the Penal Code passed in that year, “Women who appear in public without proper Islamic hijab will be sentenced to up to 74 lashes.” In 1986, under the title “Law on Dealing with Offenses and Punishments for Sellers,” penalties were established for those who sell clothing that is against

Alongside strict laws against women, street patrols began controlling women’s clothing on the streets from the early months of the establishment of the Islamic Republic. These patrols, initially known as “Jundallah” and “Special Forces for Fighting Vices”, were renamed “Guidance Patrol” in 2006.

The control of women’s bodies in the Islamic Republic of Iran is not limited to just their outer appearance, but goes far beyond that. In the system of the Islamic Republic, controlling women’s bodies is the main tactic for controlling society. Gender segregation in public spaces and the minimal share of women in those spaces, limited job opportunities for women, gender quotas in universities, lack of freedom to travel for women, and other similar restrictions on one hand, and unequal rights in marriage and the framework of the family (lack of the right to divorce, choose housing, child custody, freedom to study, travel, work, and even socialize) turn women into dependent beings in the family sphere and make society monosexist in the social sphere.

This Islamic view that women must prevent men from falling into sin by wearing hijab and being modest and secluded has cast a shadow over the lives of all people in Iran; whether they believe in such a perspective or not. But have the people accepted it? The forty-year history of the Islamic Republic clearly shows that people still stand against this view and the laws that stem from it. To the extent that after forty years of constant suppression, the powerful and all-encompassing Women’s Research Center of the parliament admits that only 35% of the society values religious hijab and around 70% of women wear cultural hijab. Even those who wear cultural hijab, “10-15% are in a severe situation or, in other words, are considered to be breaking norms, and the rest are in a group that can be seen as having cultural hijab or regular bad hijab.” (4) And this is just an official statistical report from the Islamic Republic. If a research is

Notes:

1. To study this book in Persian language, you can download it from the website.

   Capable.

   Download it.

2. Does the use of the word “woman” as “awrah” in narrations contradict its meaning in the Quran? Islam Quest website, 22 Khordad 1397.

3. The process of approving the Hijab and Chastity law in Iran, Tasnim, July 3rd, 2017.

4. Report of the Parliament Research Center on Hijab, Tabnak, 6 August 2018.