Iran Citizens, Society and State By Alex Boris

Religion Religion – 89% of all Iranians are Shi’a Muslims, 10% are Sunni, 1% are a combination of Jews, Christians, Zoroastrian, and Baha’i. Although the constitution recognizes religious minorities and guarantees their basic rights, many religious minorities have left the country since the founding of the Republic in 1979.

Ethnicity/Population Population- 76.42 million Life Expectancy- Male- 78.4 Female-65.8 Ethnicity is closely tied with religion, but other cultural differences distinguish minorities in Iran. 51% are considered Persian, speaking Persian(Farsi) as their first Language; 24% are Azeri; 8% are Gilaki and Mazandarani; 7% are Kurds; 3% are Arabi; the remaining percentages are a mixture of other groups.

Reformer v Conservatives Reformers- Mohammed Khatami(1997-2005) Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh(1981-1989) Conservatives- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad(2005-2013) Hassan Rouheri(2013-Current) Ali Khamenei(1989-Current) Moderate- Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani(1989-1997)

Social Class Lower class v Middle/Upper Class The peasantry and lower middle class are sources of support for the regime They have benefited greatly from the government social programs that have provided them with electricity and paved roads. The middle class/upper class tend to very critical of the regime and the clerics, since the revolution much of the middle class hasn’t fared well economy,

Civil Society A major source of unhappiness with the rule of the Pahlavi shahs was the government’s incursion into private lives of citizens. The Shi’ite revolutionary elites launched a campaign that may be compared to Mao’s Cultural Revolution in that they sought to enforce values of the Islamic state on the general population. Civil society has not been restored under the current regime, and this fact tends to create discontent, especially among middle class people.

Political Participation   In 1999, protests erupted in universities all across the country when the government shut down a reformist newspaper.  In late 2002, similar demonstrations broke out among students when the courts ruled a death sentence for a reformist academic.  In Iran in the summer of 2003, student demonstrations escalated into mass protests over the privatization of the university system. Following the election of 2009, (Iranian Green Movement)many people in major cities felt that the elections results were rigid, this created mass protests all across Iran.

Women and the Political System Iran’s use of Sharia law does not fully or extremely effect women in Iran compared to other Islamic countries. Many women in Iran have had access to better education more than many other Islamic countries, with this education women expect better job opportunities and political rights then they have been granted. The Islamic Republic calls its policy toward women “equality- with-difference,” meaning that divorce and custody laws now follow Islamic standards that favor males.   Women now constitute about 27% of the total labor force. 

WOMEN IN NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS Country Lower House % Women Upper House % Women China 20.2 -----* Iran 4.1 -----* Mexico 24.2 21.9 Nigeria 6.4 3.7 Russia 9.8 3.4 United Kingdom 18.1 17.8 *No directly comparable upper house Source: Women in National Parliaments, www.ipu.org Iranian women are not well represented in the Majles, as the chart above shows. Mexico’s large representation is partly due to the recent parity laws that require political parties to run women candidates for office. Nigeria’s low representation is probably reflective of traditional society there, although President Obasanjo made it a part of his reelection campaign in 2003 to include more women in his cabinet and top bureaucratic positions.

Work Cited http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/06/iran_maps/html/ http://www.parstimes.com/politics/civil_society/ http://www.iranchamber.com/society/articles/legal_status_iranian_women. php http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/maps/demotext.html http://wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/jundallah-arrest- proves-timely-for-iran/ www.ipu.org http://www.leader.ir/langs/EN/index.php?p=bio