No Revolution For Iranian Women

Mrs. Mousavi's legacy

In the last week or so I've written a lot about the "Revolutionary Hero" Mir Hossein Mousavi, whose "revolution" in Iran would in fact entail not much in the way of change at all.

However, it seems that the problems do not end with Mousavi - his wife is just as bad. Zahra Rahnavard, according to University of Connecticut Professor Kazem Kazerounian, "was key in enforcing the strict Islamic dress code (Hejab) on women. She had a major role in forming 'Gasht-e Khaharan-e Zeinab', the female street police units that harass women to enforce 'Islamic behavior.'” You can see some footage of these fascist "police" in action here.

Rahnavard was also the author of a book entitled "The Beauty of Concealment and the Concealment of Beauty", which can be read online here. Below are a couple of highlights.

First of all, the insistence on the wearing of the hijab, presented as a "beautiful" act:

Today most of the young women and girls, who have adopted hejab in toto and have been completely enamoured by it, have reached the truth that concealment in entirety is beautiful.

Then there is the support for Khomeini and Islamic theocracy:

In fact, however, (under the illuminating and guiding leadership of Imam Khomeini), millions of common womenfolk have returned to their divine nature, to the dignity of their own Self, and under the loving patronage and protection of the Islamic Republic of Iran we are advancing towards preparing the ground for new legislation, so that on the basis of the Islamic laws and precepts suitable laws may be framed for this period of time for the rights and true worth of the womenfolk in order that all the oppressed women of the world may come to realize that the only way of their deliverance is the path of Islam and not the Capitalist, humanist or Communist ideologies, and that the only guarantee for materializing this objective is the Islamic revolution.

And then, of course, there is the anti-Western hate-preaching:

You, bloodsucking Oppressors...My hejab which is by itself now an Islam personified says that it will crush you. It tells you that it is an avowed enemy of you, the ruling regimes, you the corrupt politicians, you the chosen of the strong, you Pharoahs, Croesuses, imperialists, and (their) stooges. It warns you that in this world you shall be punished by the weak masses and on the Day of Judgement shall be subjected to eternal torture of Hell.

I picture Islam with my hejab, give it a positive form. I revolt against you. With my Islam, my hejab, and my struggle every day I bring closer the death of you, of your class and of your system...

Recently, some on the Right have stated a willingness to forgive the Mousavi family their past sins, accompanied by speculation that if he was to come to power now, he would jettison oppressive sharia laws and genuinely stand for "justice" and "equality". There have been some signs of hope from the "reformers" - for example, people shouting "Death to the Islamic Republic!" - but I still see no reason to accept that there is any kind of organised, Westernising reform in the offing right now.