Inside Iran: Women's Lives

The image of Iranian women is still one of anonymous ranks of revolutionary marchers, clad in black. But underneath their black chadors or drab raincoats, they not only wear jeans, T-shirts and Lycra leggings, but they also work outside the home, drive, play sports and even become politicians. While many women haven't regained the Western-style freedom they lost in the revolution of 1979, others have won rights they never had before. Practically every girl has access to primary education now, and even remote villages have clean drinking water, a paved road and a school. Yet Islamic law continues to impose many inequities and constraints. In cash terms, for example, a woman's life is worth half that of a man's, and in the courtroom, two women have to give evidence to equal one man's testimony.

Howard describes how the atmosphere changed with the election of the reformist president Khatami, and Iranians dared to demand more freedom and discuss their problems openly. She has interviewed government officials and opinion formers, and has traveled throughout the country to meet with women from all sectors of society. The result is a fascinating story of struggle and change, vividly documenting what it means to be a woman in Iran.

About the Author:
Jane Howard is a freelance journalist living in Geneva. A graduate of Cambridge University, she worked as a foreign correspondent for BBC World Service and The Guardian, reporting from Turkey, Yugoslavia and Eastern Europe. She covered the fall of Communism in Bulgaria and the war in Croatia and Bosnia. From the beginning of 1996 to the end of 2000, she lived in Iran where her husband was working for the United Nations. She has two sons.

Journalist Howard, who has been a foreign correspondent for the BBC and The Guardian, lived in Iran from 1996 to 2000 while her husband was working there for the United Nations. In this book she thoughtfully discusses all facets of Iranian women's lives, describing her own experiences and carefully recording observations and conversations with women from all walks of life. She begins with her first arrival at Tehran's airport with two young children in tow. The bibliography is extensive, and an index gives access to the many threads of this engaging narrative. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Library Journal

Former BBC correspondent Howard, who covered the fall of communism in Bulgaria and the war in Croatia and Bosnia, here recounts her experiences living in Iran from 1996 to 2000 as the wife of a UN diplomat. Relying heavily on anecdotes about individual women, Howard places in context the history and politics of gender in Iran, making this volume accessible to a popular audience. She attempts to evoke the atmosphere of dinner parties and of rice paddies while noting the differences between the official accounts of women's situation and their real circumstances. She also often focuses on paradoxes; for example, new educational opportunities for girls include university attendance while at the same time they can be married at their father's insistence at age nine. The legal code is harsh, but some women have found ways to circumvent it. Howard's tone is generally optimistic, as she points to the creation of the Centre for Women's Participation in the wake of the Beijing Conference on women, but, sensibly, her optimism is guarded. Recommended for public libraries. Cynthia Harrison, George Washington Univ., Washington, DC Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.