A Reflective Study of Iranian Women’s Status in Relation to the Veil

Abstract

Culture is an expression as well as a form of life which has been formed through a long history. Culture and life have been in a reciprocal relationship in history. The relationship between culture and life is not a static relationship, but a dynamic relationship. Therefore it is wrong for us to separate the former from the latter compulsorily or conversely the latter from the former coercively. Unfortunately, Iranian governments have one-sidedly tried to separate the latter from the former. In doing so, most of the Iranian women have experienced a double suffering by both the influence of the west imperialistic cultures ignoring their own particular cultural values, and the powers of the anti-democratic polices destroying their individual freedom and dignity as human beings .This article will reflect upon Iranian women’s status in relation to the culture of the veil. That is to say, this article will examine how Iranian women have dealt with the issues of de-veiling and veiling which have their social, cultural, and religious roots. In doing so, after thinking of the origins of the veil to know the original meaning or function of the veil, we will consider women’s status in relation to the issues of de-veiling and veiling through focusing on the following two important turning points: 1936 (the police of compulsory de-veiling by the regime of Reza Shah) and 1983 (the beginning of compulsory re-veiling by the Islamic Republic).