In the Eye of the Storm by Erika Friedl et al

Erika Friedl is an award winning author and the professor of anthropology at Western Michigan University. Many of her publications and contributions revolve around women and religion, specifically Islam. She and her contributors wrote the book, “In the Eye of the Storm: Women in Post-revolutionary Iran,” which highlights, as the title states, women’s lives in post-revolutionary Iran. The scope of this book takes place after 1979 and into the late 1900s, providing key factors of change to women’s lives that inadvertently decreased their social standing in many areas of life such as domestic life, life in the workforce, life in the media, etc. A significant thing to note is that the content also examines women’s protest in Iran post-revolution, and how their demands for more freedom in society have been answered to an extent. The main takeaway I want for this source to highlight in my essay is to provide post-revolutionary details, and any positive or negative outcomes. This source is also helpful as it contains information that is universal in the sense that it can be included in either my thesis or the counter-thesis to support it. 

  • 1 – “Since an Islamic society needs women in occupations such as medicine, education, and law, and since the Constitution calls on the government to facilitate and provide for the development of women, this bill would permit women to work and look after their families at the same time. Mr. Forughi believed that if women wanted fully to accept their responsibilities as described in the Quran, they should not work outside the house” (Friedl et al).
  • 2 – “On the other hand, comparison over time indicates that the situation has been improving during the decade of the Islamic Republic. The gender age gap in literacy has decreased from 23 percentage points to 19 percentage points overall, and among youths of 15 to 19 years of age it has decreased from 26 percentage points to 16 percentage points. The female proportion of the school enrollment has also increased in the last 15 years, and figures for the last five years show that the increase has continued quite steadily under the Islamic Republic” (Friedl et al).

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