Parvin Darabi (Persian : پروین دارابی; born 1941, Tehran) is an Iranian-born American activist, writer and defender of women’s rights. [1] [2] [3]
Parvin Darabi (Persian : پروین دارابی; born 1941, Tehran) is an Iranian-born American activist, writer and defender of women’s rights. [1] [2] [3]
Darabi studied at California State University Northridge, University of Southern California and Pepperdine University, and California Coast University. [4] Parvin worked as an electronic systems engineer, program manager, company president, and engineering consultant until 1994. [4] From 1985 to 1990 she owned and operated her own Company PT Enterprises, in Mountain View, California where they developed the most sensitive Radar Detector presently on the German Naval Vessels active in NATO.
Her elder sister, Homa Darabi, committed suicide in 1994 by burning herself in Tajrish square in Tehran to protest against the Iranian government. [5] Since then, Parvin has become an activist. She wrote the book Rage Against the Veil and speaking out against Iran's regime and Islam. [4]
She also established the Homa Darabi foundation, her intention was to secular state, to democracy to gender equality. [6] [7]
Parvin along with Lydia Sparksworthy co-authored a book "Women of Truckee Making History" which chronicles the lives of 30 influential women in Truckee, California. [8]
Darabi has said that there are many laws in Shi'a Islam that would turn off any educated person completely, one of them being temporary marriage, which she terms as "religiously sanctioned prostitution." Darabi has said that the only thing the Islamic Republic of Iran brought was a multitude of problems. [9]
Rage Against the Veil is a book about Parvin's sister, Homa Darabi, who on February 21, 1994 committed suicide.
Women of Truckee Making History is a book that celebrates local women for their contributions to the community of Truckee, California. [10] It was compiled, designed and edited by two Truckee women, Parvin Darabi and Lydia Sparksworthy. [10] [11]
The book was published in 2002 by the Homa Darabi Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to human rights issues mostly related to women. [10]
The book details the lives of 30 influential women in Truckee. [12] The criteria for selecting the 30 women required applicants to live or work full-time in Truckee, and “to be actively involved in voluntarism which required dedication above and beyond normal eight-to-five, 40-hours-a week paid employment.”
Fatema Mernissi was a Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist.
Rakhshandeh E'tesami, better known as Parvin E'tesami, was an Iranian 20th-century Persian poet.
Throughout history, women in Iran have played numerous roles, and contributed in many ways, to Iranian society. Historically, tradition maintained that women be confined to their homes to manage the household and raise children. During the Pahlavi era, there was a drastic social change towards women's desegregation such as ban of the veil, right to vote, right to education, equal salaries for men and women, and the right to hold public office. Women were active participants in the Islamic Revolution. Iran's constitution, adopted after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, proclaims equality for men and women under Article 20, while mandating legal code adhering to Sharia law. Article 21 of the constitution as well as a few parliament-passed laws give women rights such as being allowed to drive, hold public office, and attend university but not wearing a veil in public can be punished by law; and when in public, all hair and skin except the face and hands must be covered. However, this is often not enforced; notably in recent years, Iranian women have started a number of groups to rebel against the government's oppressive policies and reclaim their independence and rights.
Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate for women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework. Although rooted in Islam, the movement's pioneers have also utilized secular, Western, or otherwise non-Muslim feminist discourses, and have recognized the role of Islamic feminism as part of an integrated global feminist movement.
Maryam Namazie is a British-Iranian secularist, communist and human rights activist, commentator, and broadcaster. She is the Spokesperson for Fitnah – Movement for Women’s Liberation, One Law for All and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. She is known for speaking out against Islam and Islamism and defending the right to apostasy and blasphemy.
During the late 20th and early 21st centuries in Iran, women's rights Women’s rights in Iran have faced ongoing challenges, marked by strict laws, cultural norms, and government policies that limit freedoms and enforce gender-based restrictions. Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the country’s legal system has imposed a conservative interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, which directly affects women’s rights in several areas. .The World Economic Forum's 2017 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Iran 140, out of 144 countries, for gender parity. In 2017, in Iran, females comprised just 19% of the paid workforce, with seven percent growth since 1990. In 2017, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Index ranked Iran in the bottom tercile of 153 countries. Compared to other South Asian regions, women in Iran have a better access to financial accounts, education, and cellphones. Iran was ranked 116, out of the 153 countries, in terms of legal discrimination against women.
Sediqeh Dowlatabadi was an Iranian feminist activist and journalist and one of the pioneering figures in the Persian women's movement.
Rage Against the Veil: The Courageous Life and Death of an Islamic Dissident is a book by Parvin Darabi, an Iranian critic of Islam.
One Million Signatures for the Repeal of Discriminatory Laws, also known as Change for Equality, is a campaign by women in Iran to collect one million signatures in support of changing discriminatory laws against women in their country.
Homa Darabi was an Iranian child psychiatrist, academic, and political activist affiliated with the Nation Party of Iran. She is known for her political self-immolation in protest to the compulsory hijab, which led to her death.
Masih Alinejad is an Iranian-American journalist, author, and women's rights activist. Alinejad works as a presenter/producer at Voice of America Persian News Network, a correspondent for Radio Farda, a frequent contributor for Manoto television, and a contributing editor for IranWire. Alinejad focuses on criticism of the status of human rights in Iran, especially women's rights. Time magazine named her among its 2023 honorees for Women of the Year.
The Iranian Women's Rights Movement, is the social movement for women's rights of the women in Iran. The movement first emerged after the Iranian Constitutional Revolution in 1910, the year in which the first women's periodical was published by women. The movement lasted until 1933 when the last women's association was dissolved by the government of Reza Shah Pahlavi. It rose again after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
Nayereh Esfahlani Tohidi is an Iranian-born American professor, researcher, and academic administrator. Tohidi is a professor emerita and former chair of gender and women’s studies, and the founding director of the Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at California State University, Northridge.
Homa Sarshar is an Iranian-American author, activist, media personality, and award-winning journalist. She was a columnist for Zan-e-Ruz magazine and the Kayhan daily newspaper between 1964 and 1978.
On 8 January 1936, Reza Shah of Iran (Persia) issued a decree known as Kashf-e hijab banning all Islamic veils, an edict that was swiftly and forcefully implemented. The government also banned many types of male traditional clothing.
The Girls of Enghelab protests are protests against the compulsory hijab in Iran, part of the wider Iranian Democracy Movement. The protests were inspired by Vida Movahed, an Iranian woman known as the Girl of Enghelab Street, who stood in the crowd on a utility box on Enghelab Street in Tehran on 27 December 2017 during the 2017–2018 Iranian protests who tied a white headscarf, to a stick, and waved it to the crowd as a flag. She was arrested on that day and was released temporary on bail a month later, on 28 January 2018. Some people interpreted Movahed's action as being based on Masih Alinejad's call for White Wednesdays, a protest movement that the presenter at VOA Persian Television started in early 2017. Other women later re-enacted her protest and posted photos of their actions on social media. These women are described as the "Girls of Enghelab Street" and the "Girls of Revolution Street" in English sources. Some of the protesters however claim that they were not following Masih Alinejad's call. The protests intensified in 2022 due to the death of Mahsa Amini.
Fashion in Iran has a cultural and economic impact on the county of Iran. During the Pahlavi era around the mid-1930s, Western fashion was introduced to the country and greatly influenced women's style. After the Iranian Revolution in 1978–1979, the hijab has become compulsory, which impacted the creation of clothing style.
After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the Hijab became the mandatory dress code for all Iranian women by the order of Ayatollah Khomeini, the supreme leader of the new Islamic Republic. Hijab was seen as a symbol of piety, dignity, and identity for Muslim women.
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