The Islamic Republic of Iran is home to many stereotypical notions. One of the first things that may pop into your head might be “Stereotypes? Must be something about men riding camels through the desert along with women in black bed sheets.” Quite the contrary. For one, there are no camels in Iran. For another, in modern Iran, burkas are not imposed, but some women, out of free will, decide to wear them.  Which brings up the next point: women in Iran, though many people will be surprised, are not subjected to that many violations of woman’s rights. Of course, as there are unfortunately in all societies, such violations are not completely foreign to Iran’s women. However the amount of women’s rights violations is much the same as in any country in the West. It may appear that Iranian women are treated with disrespect, or it may seem that this is an attribute of the Middle Eastern cultures. And yet, this has occured in the history of all cultures in all seven continents.

If we compare Iran with the United States, we can see some improvement. The adult literacy rate is 85% in Iran (UNICEF At a glance: Iran, Islamic Republic of), versus 86% in the U.S. The percent of poverty in the U.S is 12% while Iran is at more than 13% (Esfandiari). In these areas, the two are quite close. If the amount of people murdered for every 100,000 people is looked at, it is found that only 2 to 5 people are murdered in Iran, and in the U.S, the range is between 5 and 10. The amount of rapes in Iran declined by 68% since year 2000 (Esfandiari). However, Iranians do not find women’s rights very important; only 56% hold importance to these fundamental rights, as compared to 79% of Americans (Statistics on Discrimination of Women). Women’s right to vote was given to Iran in 1963, and was given to America in 1920 (Women’s Rights in Iran). Finally, the female enrollment in Iranian secondary schools is 78% which is indicating that there continues to be room for improvement in order to attain the 95% of the United States (Esfandiari).

Behind the gauzy and silky hijabs that cover today’s great women, there are great minds that are hard at work to transform their home country. Women are coming out of the shadows so that now they make up “more that 60% of the university entrants” (Esfandiari). My first cousin once removed, at the age of 22 is studying Computer Science at the University of Tehran. Women are allowed to vote, to drive, to learn, and to go outdoors. Usually, men in the families make all the decisions, however lately, people have been seeing a change in their mentality, since they are beginning to see their daughters taking positive interests in educating themselves and becoming great women. (UNICEF At a glance: Iran, Islamic Republic of) At this point in time, the amount of things stopping these women from growing and prospering in this new world of change is starting to decrease.

Two other stereotypes of Iran are that it is an anti-western society and that its inhabitants are extremely religious, to the point of fanaticism. These two clichés have something in common: they are both based on the image of the Iranian government, and not on the people themselves. For most Iranians, westernization is a positive thing. “While anti-Americanism has deep resonance in the Arab world, the situation is quite different in Iran.” (Clawson) It is the symbol of freedom of expression, and of the opportunities to come.

People have often confused the Arabs with the Persians. So therefore, it is not a surprise that people will confuse the religious point of view of the Iranian government (that came with the Islamic Revolution) with that of Iran’s real population. Some people believe that Iranians are obsessd with the Muslim religion. Not all of them are. They do not all take five minutes between classes to beat themselves like in the times of Marjane Satrapi, the author of Persepolis. Quite a few families do not even believe in the religion at all. If Iran was not deemed an “Islamic Republic”, would there be such ideas? Iranian people are not any more Muslim than many westerners are Christian.

We can look at some examples of Iranian women who have against all odds become well known for their accomplishments. Shirin Ebadi was one of the first women judges in Iran. She is a famous Iranian lawyer, writer, and teacher. In 2003, she won the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting democracy and human rights, especially for women and children in her home country (Iran). She is the first Iranian woman to receive the award. “She has also been known for promoting peaceful, democratic solutions to serious problems in society.” (“Profile: Shirin Ebadi”).  Shirin Ebadi is also the founder and leader of an organization called “Association for Support of Children’s Rights in Iran.” Ebadi started campaigns for women and children in Iran as well, helping to fight the government (“Profile: Shirin Ebadi”). After the 1979 revolution in Iran, it became strange for a woman to be a judge, so she was forced to resign. She then taught at the University of Tehran and became an advocate for civil rights. In court, Ebadi defended women and their rights and had been sent to court by the Iranian government. That put her in danger, as going against the government like that could lead to jail. She ended up paying the price when she distributed evidence about the wrongdoings of the government, for which she was jailed for three weeks in 2000. She couldn’t practice law for five years, and was fined. (“Profile: Shirin Ebadi”). Mrs. Ebadi is a great woman who has shown the Iranian government that women too, can accomplish many things.

However, some human right violations are not stereotypes of the Iranian nation. Freedom of expression is a big problem in Iran. One radical statement can go a long way. My family know of people who have gone protesting against the Islamic government (this was a few years after the revolution in 1979). Many people they knew were taken away and put in jail, and some were never liberated. Another problem is censorship. Censorship is described as “The activity of looking carefully at published material (books, films) and removing parts which are thought to be offensive or, often, politically dangerous.”  (The Blue Plaque: Ram Mohun Roy: Vocabulary) In 2003, many Iranian web users were upset at the fact that they were not permitted to retreive some data on Google. The Iranian government had blocked thousands of websites, that according to them were false and controversial. (Scullion) To do more research, you might consider going on the Amnesty International Website. Except once there, if Iran is entered into the search, no information will turn up. This is because Amnesty International, though fighting for it, does not exist in Iran. Is this so that the government can maintain Censorship? Yes. Therefore, it is not a stereotype, but a real problem that should be solved.

A common example of human rights violations in Iran is Zara Kazemi, who was an Iranian/Canadian woman. She was a freelance photographer, who traveled to different places. One day, in July 2003, Ms. Kazemi was allowed to enter Iran to photograph possible protests of the revolution. (“Iran’s Government Urged for Independant Autopsy of Akbar Mohammadi”) However, on June 23, 2003, she was arrested for taking photographs of the Evin prison, where it is prohibited to do so. She was taken to jail and though she argued against their false accusations, saying that she was just photographing the protesters near the prison, it was hopeless.  She suffered serious abuse, she was raped, and beaten to death. (“Iran’s Government Urged for Independant Autopsy of Akbar Mohammadi”)

We can only hope that the government of Iran will step into the 21st century with a more progressive look on human rights issues. Knowing that if they want to acquire the international communities respect and change the many stereotypes that has been assigned to them as a people and as a country, they must embrace the international principals and values on human rights.