6.2 Iran … Civil Society

Cleavages Religion - ~90% are Shia Muslim - ~ 10 are Sunni Muslim and 1% are a combination of Jews, Christians, Zoroastrian and Baha’I Ethnicity – 51% Persian (speaking Farsi), 24% Azeri (NW close to Azerbaijan), 8% are Gilaki and Mazandarani, 7% Kurds, 3% Arabi, and the rest are mixtures Social Class – peasantry and “working” class vs. Middle and Upper-middle (secularized) ---- (Economics reinforces the issue of secular) Reformers vs. Conservatives Pragmatic vs. Radical

Civil Society Guarantees for civil liberties and rights were written into the 1979 Constitution, but many things have gone wrong.

Protests and Demonstrations o protests erupted in universities when the government shut down the reformist newspaper. o In late 2002 similar demonstrations broke out among students when the courts ruled a death sentence for a reformist academic.

o In the summer of 2003, student demonstrations escalated into mass protests over the privatization of the university system. They wanted the overthrow and even death of Iran's religious and political leaders. Thousands were arrested during 4 days of protests. o In 2007, security forces attacked striking bus drivers and arrested hundreds of them. 2 months later they beat hundreds of men and women who had assembled to commemorate International Women's Day.

Presidential Election of 2009 Demonstrations (Green Movement) o biggest popular upheaval since the 1979 revolution began. o The announcement that Ahmadinejad the majority of the vote and Mousavi only won 34% caused the opposition candidates to call for the election to be annulled and people on both sides of the issue poured into the streets. o Mousavi had been polling much closer

o The government arrested many people, including some top leaders of the opposition. o The death toll is disputed, with state- controlled media reporting 20 people killed, but others put the figure much higher. o The protestors rallied around a woman named Neda Agha Soltan, who was photographed in Tehran as she lay dying after being shot.

Civil Society deathintehran/view/ deathintehran/view/

Protests

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Women and political system "Equality-with-difference" - policy toward women. Divorce and custody laws now follow Islamic standards that favor males. Women must wear scarves and long coats in public, and they cannot leave the country without the consent of male relatives. Many women have been reprimanded for not wearing the Hijab The wearing of the veil has become a symbol of oppression, but probably more for Westerners than for Iranian women themselves.

There are unofficial tattle-tales in Iran…they will write down a license plate number and turn it in if they think women have violated sharia Under Iran’s interpretation of Islamic Sharia law in force since its 1979 revolution, adultery can be punished by the stoning of convicted adulterers. Even though this is allowed, executions are normally carried out by hanging. Iran also amended the law to allow judges to impose a different form of execution.

Women Today more than half of all college students are women, and they are also well represented as doctors (pediatricians and gynecologists, and there are quotas for them) and government employees. Their educations have led them to expect better job opportunities and more political rights than they have been granted, but judges often interpret sharia law narrowly so that women are considered to be wards of their male relatives.

Women Women are not well represented in the Majlis Ahmadinejad fired the only female government minster in December She was a health minister and criticized her male colleagues for failing to provide funds to import vital medicines.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged equal opportunities and rights for men and women, and condemned sexual discrimination.

Rouhani’s new government The New minister of Women and Family Affairs is a woman! The New minister of Environmental Protection is a woman!

Women In August 2012 – 36 universities announced that 77 BA and BS courses would become “single gender.” For example – English literature, English translation, hotel management, archaeology, nuclear physics, computer science, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, and business management. One university, the Oil Industry University would no longer accept female students at all, citing a lack of employer demand. The theocratic regime was concerned about the social side effects, including the declining birth and marriage rates

Mrs. Obama appeared via video link at the Los Angeles award ceremony, wearing a shimmering silver dress as she announced that Argo had won the Academy Award for best picture. Iranian altered/photo shopped sleeves on the video image to fit with their censorship…

Women A 2014 fatwa stated that there can be no chatting between the sexes in online forums. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged equal opportunities and rights for men and women, and condemned sexual discrimination.

voting

Women Women in Iran

Linkage Institutions The Constitution guarantees citizens the right to organize and to express themselves, so some linkage institutions have arisen.

Political Parties The constitution provides for political parties, but the government did not allow them until Khatami's election as president in 1997, so they do not have that large of an impact in the process. It is a multiparty system They operate in loose alignments within two main coalitions - the Conservative Alliance and the Reformist Coalition Reformist candidates are rarely approved to run for office and many have been banned, leaving only the Conservative Alliance free to operate and run for office.

Political Parties Some parties in the Conservative Alliance Islamic Society of Engineers, Combatant Clergy Association, Islamic Coalition Party, Association of Islamic Revolution Loyalists Many political parties of former dissidents are now in exile but still active.

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Review Try to answer these without using your notes – you may talk about them with your neighbors. What type of party system does Iran have? What 2 factions are all parties aligned with? What happened after the disputed 2009 elections? Why is this such a big deal? Describe the current status of women in Iran. How would you describe civil society in Iran? Open, closed, half open? Door ajar? Etc.

Modest Dress The Quran states that men and women should be dressed modestly Some countries require it (Saudi Arabia, Qatar) but other countries make it a personal choice Many women see it as a right and choice, not as a burden some describe it “setting them free” from being valued for their looks/bodies etc., and allows them to be valued for their minds and intellect Some see it otherwise Veiling Dress attire for men is similar to that in Europe. However, visitors should note that shorts should not be worn outside the house and garden. Short sleeved shirts used to be frowned upon, but are much more acceptable lately. They should be avoided if visiting one of the more conservative government bodies. Ties are acceptable although worn rarely by Iranian men since the revolution. Government officials never sport a tie. Jogging in tracksuits (but not shorts) is acceptable for men. From style/dress-code-in-iran.html

Elections

 Elections to the presidency are conducted in a majoritarian system with a runoff.  If its not filled in the first round, you have another chance to win. The top remaining candidates win.  Majlis elections have a set level (changes frequently), and if no one gets it, there is a plurality runoff.

Vets the Candidates!! The Guardian council continually bans thousands of candidates from running, mainly from the reformist parties. For example, in 2004, of the possible 285 seats (5 are reserved for religious minorities), reformist parties could only introduce 191 candidates. Some reformists refused to vote and the official turnout was only about 51%. Conservative Candidates won about 70% of the seats.

Vets the Candidates In the summer 2013, the Guardian Council rejected the presidential candidacy of former president Rafsanjani (a reformist), and only allowed one relatively unknown reformist to run out of 8 candidates. But the relatively unknown reformist won! What does this suggest?

Civil Society and Interest Groups Civil Society was cut down in 1979 with the Revolution, everyone who questioned the clerical regime were purged. Between there was some revival in the economic sphere (business associations) and artistic circles (especially literature and film) and around publications of non-political journals, but many were forced underground by Ahmadinejad’s regime.

Interest Groups An important interest group for factory workers is called Workers' House - operates with the help of its affiliated newspaper. It claims to represent the workers in Iran. Iran does not recognize independent unions, so workers have to make do with Islamic Labour Councils, which must be approved by employers and the security services. They are seen as being in cahoots with the government, so workers tend to keep their grievances to them for fear of being fired. Many have attempted to organize labor in a time when inflation outpaces wage rises and workers are being laid off, but these attempts to organize labor are being suppressed.

Mass Media Press is available but subjected to censorship and regulation by the judiciary The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) is a media corporatrion in control of radio and television. Many newspapers and magazines are privately owned. o Between 1979 and 1981, 27 newspapers were shut down. o In 1981 the Majlis passed a law making it a criminal offense to use "pen and speech" against the government.

Mass Media o In 2000, the outgoing Majlis approved a press control law that the Council of Guardians ruled could not be overturned by new legislation. Some 60 pro-reform newspapers were shut down by o In 2005, the Internet offered some information and a forum for discussion. Blogs of all persuasions could be found, but within a month of Ahmadinejad taking office, and Internet censorship committee and elements of the judiciary began ordering ISPs to deny access to political sites.

Some Independent Media … non-political In 2010 they proposed the idea of an Intranet, which was to be implemented by Iran's elite is well educated, and many of the allowed publications cater to their needs as professional journals, sports magazines, and publications in the fine arts, cinema and health care etc.

Social Media They have their own state sanctioned version of youtube The government has created smear campaigns designed to intimidate Iranian journalists living in exile, including apparent death threats. Reformist newspapers have been targeted by officials who ransack the places and arrest journalists. Khamenei has banned social media in Iran (facebook, twitter, etc.), but Khamenei just joined facebook (December 2012) but has been on twitter for some time now!

Media media two

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