According to official statistics, Iran is an Islamic country which consists of more than 95% of the population who are Muslims. And according to the 2020 survey by the research institute called ‘The Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitude in Iran’, it was found that over 60% of Iranians identify themselves as non-Muslims.
Islamic Laws For Iranian Woman
One of the most prominent laws that have been deep rooted into Iranian heritage are the Islamic laws for women which do not reflect the cultural values, norms, and beliefs of the majority, especially women.
According to the civil law, many Iranian women suffer due to not being equal to the men. This also brings to attention some of the major sources of tension between the women and the Islamic state.
The first one revolves around women who have restrictions placed on them by the Islamic state regarding their clothing and suppressing women’s protests against lack of personal freedom in terms of travel, employment, and marriage. Additionally, the second major tension between the two relates to women’s political and social role.
As such, the Iranian state is going through a massive struggle: thousands of women who do not see themselves as primarily housewives. Moreover, women are beginning to strive for higher education, demanding the same employment opportunities as men, and having the same equal political representation, like having the freedom to run a presidential election.
Plus, since women are beginning to understand more about the world through the internet and access to various other technological devices that they are being raised with, they want the same level of freedom for themselves the same way other women around the world have their own. They are beginning to say no to the things they don’t like and are more inclined to follow their own strong belief rather than what has been forced upon them since their birth.
Unfortunately, as much as these women have tried over the years, the progress towards their freedom has been very slow paced. Naturally, it takes time for things to change when the laws for them have been deep rooted for years in the culture. The silver lining to the situation however is that these women are not alone.
There are people around the world who are working towards changing the dire situation of these women and bring about an improvement to their conditions – a prime example of such an individual includes the highly acclaimed Iranian artist and curator, Amak Mahmoodian.
For years now, her life’s work has been dedicated to the representation and identity of the women of Iran. She is a multi-platform storyteller who is looking for lyrical realities framed in the photographs.
Some of her renowned projects included her first photobook, ‘Shenasnameh’; the book focuses on the lifestyles of Iranian women, and the search for personalized female identification. Her other project is called ‘Zanjir’ which is centered around an imaginative conversation between her and the Persian princess and memoirist, Taj Saltaneh. As such, the book serves as a link that connects the past with the present and discusses in detail about subjects related to history, family, loss, and separation.
