The Truth About Iranian Women

Every so often, I do a little bit of googling on one of my favorite topics- Iranian Women. Maybe I’m partial towards the subject because I, myself, am an Iranian woman.

Is that why I come back to this same search time and time again?

Well, I guess it kind of has something to do with that…it fascinates me that even though I share the same heritage and nationality with the women of Iran, we’re worlds apart– in fact, it’d be unfair to even say I understand what their lives are like.

I, along with many of my friends & countless of other Iranians who live outside of Iran [some haven't ever even set foot in Iran before], live freely and in democratic countries…free from dictatorship. Some of us can’t even begin to relate or imagine what it would be like to live under a dictator and strict regime that would prohibit us from something commonplace like wearing whatever we pleased on a sunny day or going to a pool party with our friends.

Sometimes, however, I understand things a little better when I see youth who have recently moved from Iran– those recently immigrated girls and guys push their freedom a little further than those of us who’ve grown up outside of Iran. Their desire to explore their new found freedom often leads them to making decisions they probably should have avoided, but like a kid who has been deprived of candy on Halloween year after year– the girl who’s been forced to wear a chador in 90 degree weather would rather choose to wear something a little less than modest to the park on a spring day during her first 13bedar in America, the “land of the free”.

All of this leads me to wonder what Iran is really like for women…outside of the public eye. Does the regime lead them to positive or negative behavior? Are they motivated to stand out by rebelling and, in turn, making poor decisions or do they push themselves towards success that lead to groundbreaking acheivements like Zahra Rahnavard?

I stumbled upon this video that was produced in 2007 and aired on NBC about Women in Iran. It made me proud to be an Iranian Women and again, sparked my interest in this google search again.

Are things any different now? How does all of this make you feel as an Iranian or as an Iranian woman?