Monday, June 29, 2009

Iranian Women: Raising the Roof 6/29

Carly Yuenger

On today's show we discuss the political experience of women in the 1979 Revolution in Iran as well as the political roles they're playing today.

Our guest, Iranian-born author Nahid Rachlin, offers us multiple female perspectives on life in Iran and on what it's like to be living far away from one's homeland when political upheaval happens.

What insights and questions have the recent events raised for you about women's lives in Iran and their role in politics? What experiences have you had that help you understand what it's like for women in Iran today and for ex-patrioted Iranians? Have you watched the violent and tragic video of a woman named Neda? Do you refuse to? Let us know what perspectives and knowledge you're lacking that you'd like us to bring onto the show. Add a comment below, or leave us a voicemail at 1-877-GLOBE-07.

You can check out Nahid Rachlin's memoir, Persian Girls, here, and an article by Soheila Vahdati at Women's eNews, here, about changes in women's rights activism in Iran in just the last decade.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I found the discussion about the turmoil in Iran very interesting. The emotional uprising in Iran gives the people of the world insight into the Iranian psyche that didn’t exist before. It is hard to just sit on the sidelines and root for the protestors. Yet it is also hard to picture yourself as an Iranian and having the courage to join in the demonstrations. Neda crystallizes the tragic unfairness of the whole scenario. Normally, here in the US, we expect our government to stick a diplomatic toe in. In the case of Iran, this would be very unwise. Like many Americans and people from many other nations, we wish we could help. I plan to take a look at the website mentioned by the Green Bay caller.
Another topic discussed was Nahid Rachlin’s mother’s marriage. In the last few months there was a court case involving an arranged marriage of a young girl. I believe this was in Pakistan. The “court” ruled to allow the marriage. Of course the US just had the Yearning for Zion polygamy fiasco. Unfortunatel, this isn’t something that is of another generation. It still happens.