Inside Iran: Women's Lives

by Jane Mary Howard

TV crews and foreign correspondents come and go, but former BBC correspondent Jane Howard made her home in Iran for five years, raising her two young children there. Her experience took her beyond the headlines and horror stories and into the lives of everyday Iranian women. Her brilliantly observed report, Inside Women’s Lives, takes the reader from dinner in a presidential palace to tea in a nomad’s tent. From women working in rice paddies and tea plantations to highly educated women in Tehran who have been banned from working in their professions. The image of Iranian women is still one of anonymous ranks of revolutionary marchers, clad in black. But underneath their black chadors or drab raincoats, they not only wear jeans, T-shirts and Lycra leggings, but they also work outside the home, drive, play sports and even become politicians. While many women haven’t regained the Western-style freedom they lost in the revolution of 1979, others have won rights they never had before. Practically every girl has access to primary education now, and even remote villages have clean drinking water, a paved road and a school. Yet Islamic law continues to impose many inequities and constraints. In cash terms, for example, a woman’s life is worth half that of a man’s, and in the courtroom, two women have to give evidence to equal one man’s testimony. Howard describes how the atmosphere changed with the election of the reformist president Khatami, and Iranians dared to demand more freedom and discuss their problems openly. She has interviewed government officials and opinion formers, and has traveled throughout the country to meet with women from all sectors of society. The result is a fascinating story of struggle and change, vividly documenting what it means to be a woman in Iran.

Genres: Iran

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2002

Reviews

[Shahrun · Rating 4 out of 5]

My father is Persian and he has a large family there who I have never met because I have never been to Iran and don’t even speak the language. I’m so jealous of the authors experiences of living and traveling around Iran. She has seen so many different places and met some very extraordinary women. This book didn’t go as deep as I would have liked (or perhaps as the author would have liked either). I suspect it is due to fear of the Iranian regime and the danger to the women who live there? I was still surprised with the women who were willing to come forward and put their stories on record. There have been some very remarkable achievements that the author uncovers. I appreciate the fact that she didn’t seem to be judging the country or it’s people, she was trying to present what she found and let the reader firm an opinion. Most of the book felt quite was positive to me, which I didn’t expect. That perhaps the revolution did actually did bring improvements to women’s lives, especially in education. There is still a long way to go, but I don’t think any country has it right yet anyway. I enjoyed learning a little about Iranian culture and was surprised that I may have more than just the blood flowing through my veins. I would have liked a chapter on the author as she gave some interesting titbits but no depth on her own experience, like why was she having Persian language lessons? Were they compulsory or was she genuinely trying to connect with people. I have so many questions I want to ask now.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed. This isn't a bad book, it's just not as good as I think it could be. The author had some remarkable experiences when she lived in Iran as the wife of a British diplomat. But the anecdotes, while some are interesting, don't hold together very well. I did not come away with the sense that the stories drew a coherent picture or contributed to an overall point. The book is well-written in the sense that it was accessible and easy to read. The problem is that after I finished I wasn't sure whether there was an overall point beyond the fact that women have it pretty hard in modern Iran.

There are tantalizing bits that I wished she had followed up on more, like the remnants of pre-Islamic traditions about the role of women. And it was a little odd how much she wrote about women's roles in various minority communities (such as ethnic minorities like the Turkic Quashqa'i) and the community of ex-pat women living in Tehran, and less than I would have expected about the Farsi-speaking majority that constitutes the dominant Iranian culture.

[Carol Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about women in government from the fall of the Shah to 2002. Interviews and descriptions.