Women and the Political Process in Twentieth-Century Iran

by Parvin Paidar

Overview

In a comprehensive and original analysis, Parvin Paidar considers the role of women in the political process of twentieth-century Iran and demonstrates how political reorganization has redefined their position. Challenging the view expressed by conventional scholarship that emphasizes the marginalization of Muslim women, the author asserts that gender issues are right at the heart of the political process in Iran. The implications of the study bear on the position of women throughout the Middle East and in the developing countries generally.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521473408
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/11/1995
Series:	Cambridge Middle East Studies , #1
Pages:	422
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.94(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction: Marginalisation of gender and approaches to women in Middle Eastern studies; Part I. The Discourse of Modernity: 1. Social diversity on women's issues in nineteenth-century Iran; 2. Women and the ear of constitutionalism; 3. Women and the era of nation building; 4. Women and the era of nationalism; 5. Women and the era of modernisation; Part II. The Discourse of Revolution: 6. Gender as a revolutionary discourse; 7. Women and the political transition from modernisation to Islamisation; Part III. The Discourse of Islamisation: 8. The Islamic construction of family; 9. Women and national participation in the Islamic Republic; 10. Policing the family; Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

"...[a] highly informative presentation of the role of women in modern Iran [which] should be read by all interested in these fields....strongly recommended as a comprehensive and analytical survey with particular strength in the less-known postrevolutionary period." American Historical Review

"Paidar's approach is novel and rewarding....Her pathbreaking book is sure to reamin the definitive study on women in modern Iran for quite some time. Her methodology will provide a new model for the study of Middle Eastern Islamic countries where women face similar obstacles." Middle East Journal

"...this is a highly insightful book, which is easily accessible to both scholars and the general public, and promises to contribute significantly to debates on the nature of contemporary Iranian society and politics as well as to the field of gender studies in general." Mansour Bonakdarian, American Journal of Sociology

"Parvin Paidar's Women and the Political Process in Twentieth-Century Iran is the best of the dozen books that have appeared on the subject since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Carefully researched, it contains rich information, especially on women's organizations, leaders, journals, and political activities in the course of the last 10 years. It is also lucidly written, permitting the reader to plow through a mass of details without getting bogged down in minutiae. The work can be used as an encyclopedia on women in modern Iranian politics." Ervand Abrahamian, Contemporary Sociology

"Paidar is to be congratulated for her in-depth, thorough, and multi-layered analysis." Ali Akbar Mahdi, The Historian

"The book's value lies in its detailed discussion of the development of laws and policies pertaining to women under the Islamic Republic." Shiva Balaghi, Middle East Report

"It is truly a great analysis of the Islamic Revolution which one would recommend highly." Sayyed Nadeem Kazmi, Dialogue

"...rightly described as a 'scholarly and thorough' research..." Dialogue

From the Publisher