Hannah Dowdy, Diana Avina, Owen Lucich Islamic Revolution Hannah Dowdy, Diana Avina, Owen Lucich

What was the Islamic Revolution? -The Islamic Revolution of 1978-1979 was a series of events and outburst of mutiny against the Pahlavi Dynasty, under the rule of Mohammad Reza Shah. -As social classes grew farther apart, people became discontent with their ruler and current government. The people of Iran also were not able to quell their frustration due to the “overcrowded cities, housing problems, shortages, inflation, and the other side-effects of sudden growth” (Abdallah 40). People took to the streets and riots and revolts took place.

Reforms of the Revolution -The Pahlavi Dynasty created multiple reforms during the White Revolution in 1963 in order to “create an educated, secular and westernized Iranian society” (Gürbüz). types of reforms The land reform Sales of some state owned factories to finance the land reforms The enfranchisement of women Formation of literacy corps -Family Protection Act of 1976 declared to rights of women including marriage, divorce, and child custody.

Start of protests -A news article published on January 7, 1978 claimed Ayatollah Khomeini to be a foreign agent who had contact with Britain and was selling out Iran to neo-colonialists and communists . This was found to be extremely insulting towards Ayatollah and students in the city of Qom began to protest. Two people were killed during this revolt by police force. -After the deaths of from the protest in Qom, Khomeini encouraged mosques and bazaars to become locations for protests. -On February 18, riots broke out in different cities, largest being in Tabriz, where they tore down any “Western” symbols such as cinemas, banks, bars, and police stations. Six people were killed from these riots.

Cinema Rex fire -On August 19, terrorists barricaded the doors of a cinema in Abadan and set in on fire. 422 people burned to death inside the theater. Khomeini blames the attack on the Shah and the SAVAK which lead for the public to take on the streets in protest. A police officer was wrongfully executed for this act. - It was known to be the largest terrorist attack before 9/11.

The Martial Law and Black Friday -On September 7, the Shah enforced the martial law in major cities all around Iran which banned any street protests and created a curfew in order to stop protests. Although, the next day thousands gathered in Jaleh Square for a religious protest. Police ordered the protesters to leave yet no one did. This caused the police to open fire on the crowd killing 64 civilians, while General Oveissi claimed 30 soldiers were killed by armed snipers in nearby buildings. Shah decided to not break up any more protests, but instead continue to negotiate with the protest leaders.

How did the Revolution Impact Women? A writer for the Iran Primer, Haleh Esfandiari, has written an article about the female impact on the revolution. During the Islamic Revolution, women lost and regained their right to vote multiple times. Women were frequently if not always at the mercy of the man of the house due to the Family Proclamation Law. Women did; however, “win most positions in the political area” as emphasized by Esfandiari (Institute of Peace). Due to the Family Protection Law, women won the right to apply for divorce and gain custody of their child. A husband could no longer divorce his wife without legitimate reason or automatically gain custody of the children. Along with these significant improvements, the age of legal marriage was raised from 13 to age 18.

American Hostages In result of the United States allowing Mohammad Reza Shah to enter their country for medical treatment, a group of Iranian students stormed an American embassy in Tehran. The group took more than 60 American hostages. This act was a revolutionary way of breaking away from the old Iranian past and a message for the United States to stop interfering with Iran’s affairs.

Ending of Revolution - Shah and his family fled Iran in January of 1979 on what was supposed to be a vacation. -On April 1, Khomeini declared Iran an Islamic Republic . -The Family Protection Act was repealed and rights were taken away from women. - The government's goal now was to suppress Westernization causing Westernized elite to flee the country. A new constitution created a religious based government and Khomeini became the first rahbar, leader.

Works Cited Abdallah, Maureen. The Middle East. Silver Burdett Company, 1980. Esfandiari, Haleh. “Women’s Rights Movement.” United States Institute of Peace: The Iran Primer. 2001. Web. 15 February 2017. Gürbüz, Vedat. “The Iranian Revolution.” SBF Dergisi. Web. 17 February 2017.