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Challenging Tradition: Women Inside Iran’s Student Organizations

 

Fariba Davoodi Mohajer 

 

A young lady named Bahareh Hedayat succeeded to challenge the traditions of the governing board of the long-standing student organization Tahkim-e Vahdat(the Office for the Consolidation of Unity), after its 11-year period without women. She navigated a labyrinth of political factions to become a member of the male-dominated Tahkim-e Vahdat’s Central Council. In the 11 years preceding Ms. Hedayat’s triumph, was there not a single female student capable of such responsibility – or did the conservative character of the organization prevent progress in this respect?

 

Tahkim-e Vahdat, like other political organizations in Iran, is limited by the traditions honored by society. The student organization has tried to justify its lack of women inside its leadership by pointing to a lack of interest among female students, conservative attitudes of women, or a lack of competence or self-confidence necessary for such positions.  

 

But is the competition between men and women in Iran equal and fair? Although the root of this uneven playing field starts in the home, this model is perpetuated by universities. The very presence of a woman (regardless of her age) on the political scene, as well as establishing her legitimacy as a candidate, require greater effort than for a man seeking the same position.

 

Chauvinistic environments and male-dominated connections have paved the way for men to succeed in political ventures. Women are either outside of this environment or they reject the conduct of these groups. While critical of this system generally, women often lack exposure to it due to a male-dominated family and society. Sometimes women must leave behind their feminine identity in order to survive in politics. Staying in the political scene, while remaining true to one’s female identity, has proved difficult for many potential female leaders.

 

When asked about the absence of female students in Tahkim-e Vahdat’s elections, former board member and political secretary of Tahkim-e Vahdat Ali Afshari explained: “From its inception, Tahkim-e Vahdat was a male-dominated group. The few women there had low-profile positions and did not participate actively in the Central Council’s activities. This context defined Tahkim-e Vahdat’s view towards its female members. Also, until the second half of the 1990s, gender-segregation dominated Tahkim-e Vahdat. Local offices had a women’s branch and their activities were managed separately. Later, Tahkim-e Vahdat changed this arrangement.” (1)

 

Mr. Afshari acknowledges that in certain processes, such as the elections of Tahkim-e Vahdat, odds are stacked against women: “There was a chauvinistic culture in Tahkim-e Vahdat and it takes time to change this culture. Of course, there was no affirmative action for women either. I believe in meritocracy, not in positive discrimination. If a woman gets elected to a position with the help of affirmative action and then does not succeed, it can have a negative effect on women who are very deserving of such positions.” While the dominant culture of Tahkim-e Vahdat is an important reason for the lack of female participation, women also choose not to participate in Tahkim-e Vahdat’s activities because, as the major political opposition group in Iran, the organization has experienced significant tension. Mr. Afshari reminds us that “Tahkim-e Vahdat has always been vulnerable and under pressure from security and governmental authorities. The presence of female students could have given them another reason to attack the organization. One of the persistent allegations has been the relationships between male and female students.”

 

The aggressive presence of men in political activities and pursuits has left little room for women. With the exception of a few exceptional individuals, women who have been successful in Iran’s political scene have male relatives supporting them and assisting them in climbing the political hierarchy through their connections. Although there are many smart, competent women in Iran, not all of them enjoy the same access. If these women speak their minds and engage in criticism (or if they support women’s rights) they will be attacked and marginalized. This reality will effect an organization, even a democratic one.

 

No One Threatened Me!

 

Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, another former Central Council member of Tahkim-e Vahdat, identified two main reasons for the lack of female participation in the organization: “Women, in general assemblies and various offices, had always been in the minority and this minority was not active. I was elected as a board member thanks to my activities in the Islamic Student Organization of Tarbiat Moallem University. At the time, the Supreme Leader’s liaison in the university had abandoned the university’s Islamic student organization. I actively opposed this decision and succeeded in reviving the organization. Having demonstrated my potential, I was elected to two terms as a Tahkim-e Vahdat board member. The environment in the university was not conducive to female students becoming active and visible in student organization activities. Also, in a male-dominated place, men have fewer competitors.”

 

Ms. Haghighatjoo did not see male students overtly creating obstacles to the presence of women in Tahkim-e Vahdat: “In fact, I did not see any active women during my membership; otherwise, they would have been successful. However, this does not mean that the challenges are minor. Women of all ages know that they have to put forth more effort in order to solve these problems and cannot give up or retreat. I never wanted to be the general secretary of Tarbiat Moallen University’s Islamic student organization, because I knew that the boys there would not handle it well. I had to work twice as much as everyone else. I was responsible for the cultural committee of the organization, but in fact I was in charge of everything there.” Women are not necessarily at fault here, according to Ms. Haghighatjoo: “Male-dominated culture overshadows the competition and makes it more difficult for women.”

 

Women who seek advancement in politics have been regarded as power hungry or strange in some way, while the same attempts by men are regarded as courageous and legitimate. These realities erode the confidence of many women. Instead of affirmative action for women to compensate negative historical discrimination, they have always confronted those men who view women’s political progress as an insult to their identity.

 

Traditional Obstacles

 

Former Tahkim-e Vahdat board member Akbar Atri came to this organization from Allameh Tabatabai University where the majority of students are female. “There were no legal constraints preventing women from participating in student activities,” explains Atri. “However, the traditional backgrounds of female students were very relevant. The most important obstacles were the families of these young women. There were active and motivated women in the university, but working with Tahkim-e Vahdat was time-consuming, stressful, and risky (one could be arrested). Most of the time women’s families did not allow their daughters to participate in these costly and risky activities. Women also preferred to stay in low-profile positions of the organization while studying. At the same time, the political arrangement and connections did not allow the women to advance in the Tahkim-e Vahdat hierarchy. Often, while the girls were active in different offices, the representatives of those offices were boys. Male students frequently thought their female classmates were not serious enough to work in Tahkim-e Vahdat which was an organization with a serious agenda. On the other hand, boys were always protective of girls and concerned about their security. However, today I am hopeful that girls will be more visible in the board of Tahkim-e Vahdat.”

 

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a female student who was elected to the general council of an Islamic student organization of a university with a majority of male students described the challenges she faced: “They would lock the office in order for me not to attend the meetings; I do not know who exactly was doing that. They also ignored me. I kept wondering if my presence in that organization was worth all of these humiliations! I was threatened once, but I never brought these issues up since I thought these are just tactics to debase me. Our students were mainly boys. They were friends and hanging out and, through these friendships, they were building connections. We girls did not have this same opportunity.” Eventually, this young lady rose to these challenges and conducted several speeches and was finally elected to the governing board of her university’s student group with broad support.

 

Women Are Here to Stay

 

Bahareh Hedayat, now a board member of Tahkim-e Vahdat and the head of the organization’s committee on women’s affairs identified a series of characteristics which explain the shifting demographics inside Islamic student associations. Iran’s society has a male chauvinistic culture and our girls have grown up in this culture. As a result, they do not expect more than what society allows them to achieve and do not claim their undermined rights. On the other hand, political activities in Iran require significant courage as well as personal drive and optimism; these characteristics rarely get a chance to flourish in our women. In other words, the drive to engage in political activities is killed in the early stages of a girl’s life. A girl who is admitted to university and confronted with the political atmosphere of Islamic student organizations is more surprised than frightened. In fact, these girls rarely recognize the benefits of political ventures. Although this is somewhat true of many male students as well, since the costs of political activities are very high, their motivation for following political and social issues is stronger.

 

College admission rates for girls used to be significantly lower than boys, leading to more male-dominated Islamic student organizations. But throughout the last two decades, the number of girls admitted to universities has dramatically increased. As a result, women have experienced considerable progress in university activities including those of Islamic student organizations.

 

A relatively non-discriminatory attitude toward female students has taken hold in the last four to five years. While the number of girls active in Tahkim-e Vahdat remains low, their presence and activities have been accepted. This positive attitude toward women encourages girls inside the system to climb the ranks of the organization. During the elections, male students as well as female students were eliminated, demonstrating that their victories were not based on gender.

 

At the same time, in recent years, only ten women have been significantly involved in this organization. Most of them ended their activities with Tahkim-e Vahdat upon graduation. This number, compared to at least 300 men active in Tahkim-e Vahdat, is not significant. However, there were only ten to fifteen people out of these 300 who were elected as board members.

 

For some time, Tahkim-e Vahdat has been heavily engaged in politics and it was not inclined to revise its policies. Meanwhile, the new generation in Iran’s universities is different from those in Tahkim-e Vahdat’s leadership, with different needs and goals. Fortunately, the previous leadership has demonstrated its awareness of this problem; Tahkim-e Vahdat acknowledged this problem in its last statement, demanding change.

 

Unlike the past years, today’s dominant culture of society allows women to enter male- dominated circles. In fact, men are sometimes a minority in women’s circles. As a result, in Islamic student organizations, we can see a breakdown of male-dominated atmosphere and stronger presence of women. Now, women inside the governing bodies of Tahkim-e Vahdat and its committees are here to stay.

 

Although there are few girls active in the central leadership of Tahkim-e Vahdat, girls are active members of Tahkim-e Vahdat’s governing boards inside various universities; this number has increased significantly in recent years, reflecting progress. The most difficult obstacle remains the cultural issues mentioned above.

  

Asked about male students’ resistance to female membership in Tahkim-e Vahdat’s governing boards, Hedayat answered: “I was one of these girls. In fact, there were concerns by different factions of Tahkim-e Vahdat about women’s issues, which led to a revival of these issues in the last few years. These activities and this attention made my efforts in the women’s committee stand out. While there were lots of problems with my appointment, with the persistence of both factions in Tahkim-e Vahdat, and of course my own determination, I was finally elected. Chauvinism is just a small part of the problem, in my view. My activities and strong record were the reason that other members continued to support my service on the governing board.”

 

After all these years, male students active in Islamic student organizations have come to understand that without women and their activities, they cannot gain democratic legitimacy. Those who fight for democracy cannot ignore a large portion of Iran’s university body because of their gender. Women can vitalize the governing board of Tahkim-e Vahdat by putting forth a tolerant, unified political stance and make it a powerful medium for the expression of students’ grievance. It will open a new chapter in the history of student organizations in Iran’s universities.

 

(1) Quotations are from an in-person interview with Mr. Afshari, Mr. Atri, Ms. Haghighatjoo, and Ms. Heydayat.        





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