Behind The Veil: The Iranian Revolution

The 1979 Iranian Revolution represented a resistance to westernization in efforts to restore Islamic principles. Iran during the 1970s was plagued by corruption, despotism, and repression. Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi faced massive resistance specifically by a coalition led by Muslim fundamentalists and Ayatollah Khomeini. Khomeini believed that “As for those who oppose us because of their opposition to Islam, we must cure them by means of guidance, if it is at all possible; otherwise, we will destroy these agents of foreign powers with the same fist that destroyed the Shah's regime.” Iran shifted from a pro-Western monarchy to an anti-Western theocracy. There was a variety of perspectives to this revolution. Interestingly, Iranian women were

These memoirs will provide authentic cases in which Iranian women have displayed agency and how the roles of Iranian women improved. One memoir of interest is Debra Johanyak’s Behind the Veil: An American Woman’s Memoir of the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. This is a memoir from an American woman who witnessed the Iranian Revolution unfold. She was a college English instructor at the Shiraz University. This is a different perspective from the media and political portrayals of the uprising. Since she was American, her role as an American woman in Iran during the revolution is important to examine. Was she impacted the same way other women were due to the revolution? How did this experience differ from other Iranian women? Another memoir is Shirin Ebadi’s Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope. This memoir provides a distinct female perspective to the 1979 Iranian Revolution and demonstrates how the Islamic role did not entirely reduce women’s and agency in Iran. This story highlights a unique situation in which an educated Iranian woman who challenges the ideal Orientalist assumptions of the Middle Eastern women stereotype by not only opposing the West but the new Islamic regime as well in her struggle with the private and public sphere in Iran post-revolution. Ebadi’s memoir displays how the Islamic Revival

The portrayal of Iranian women in the Iranian Revolution by the East and West in media and pictures would be of use. For example, Babak Ebrahimiam provides pictures of the revolution in his work, Pictures from a Revolution: The 1979 Iranian Uprising. One photo, (fig. 18) is interesting because the picture displays a large gathering of women celebrating the return of Ayatollah Khomeini. This shows that women were essential in the revolution. This is connected to Ebadi’s memoir. Another picture is (fig 14.) which is titled Young Woman at Anti-Shah Demonstration. 1978. This photo is useful in identifying the role of women pre and post-Iranian Revolution. The woman in the photo is dressed in a black chador and is alone while men are gathered and are on a raised street. It raises the question whether if the Iranian revolution did liberate or not liberate Iranian women. Ultimately, the Iranian Revolution reinforced traditional Islamic wear and gender roles in Iran. The memoirs will provide ways in which Iranian women have challenged and resisted the implications of the revolution. Women in Iran were very much active and displayed agency despite the many obstacles that these women faced. By comparing the memoirs to the Orientalist perspective, this will show that women roles in the Islamic Republic have rather improved since the Pahlavi regime. These women