Sukarno, Sarinah. The duty of women in the struggle of
the Indonesian Republic [in Indonesian], Jakarta 1947,
1963.
N. Suwondo, The position of Indonesian women in law
and society [in Indonesian], Jakarta 1981.
S. Wieringa, Sexual politics in Indonesia, Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire 2002.Saskia E. WieringaIran and Afghanistaniran
Women’s emancipation as a component of social
progress surfaced before the emergence of Iran’s
constitutional movement (1905–11). In the 1840s,
the Bàbìmovement projected equality between the
sexes in many domains of social life (Cole 1998).
The Constitutionalists supported female education
and increased social participation. Women contrib-
uted to the revolution, but the Majlis, influenced by
religious leaders, denied women enfranchisement,
categorizing them with the mentally handicapped
and criminals (Afary 1996).
In the early 1900s, advocates of women’s educa-
tion included women with socialist sympathies.
Socialists saw women’s rights as a prerequisite to
social progress and opposed state and clerical sup-
pression (Shahidian 2002a).
Reza Shah’s ascendancy signaled the demise of
activism by leftists and women (Sanasarian 1982).
Neither movement resurfaced until the Shah’s abdi-
cation in 1941.
In 1943, the Organization of Iranian Women,
affiliated to the Tudeh (Communist) Party de-
manded legal transformations regarding women in
the family and workplace. In 1945, the short-lived
autonomous governments of Azerbaijan and Kur-
distan approved women’s enfranchisement. Before
it was outlawed in 1949, the Tudeh Party intro-
duced legislation for enfranchisement and improved
conditions. Clerics and conservatives rejected the
bill (Abrahamian 1982).
The 1953 coup brought widespread arrests. Only
state-approved organizations existed for the next
25 years. Women participated in student move-
ments and semi-clandestine circles. Activists dis-
cussed land reform and infiltrating the working
class, rarely addressing women’s issues.
In the 1970s, the People’s Mujàhidìn Organiza-
tion of Iran and the Organization of Iranian
People’s Fedaii Guerrillas offered opportunities for
expressing women’s dissent. The former, radical
religious activists, relied on Marxist political econ-
omy, the latter on Marxism-Leninism (Abrahamian
1989). Initially, women participated in neither650 political-social movements: revolutionary
group; it took time for the Mujàhidìn to recognize
them (Najàt £usaynì2001). Marxists attracted
more women than religious organizations; their
membership drew on colleges, urban intellectuals,
and liberal-minded professionals (Abrahamian 1982).
Though female leftists loomed significantly in the
1979 Revolution and most maintained independ-
ence from Islamists, the left disregarded feminist
autonomy. Many leftist women’s organizations
functioned primarily as recruiters (Moghissi 1994,
Shahidian 2002a). Women participated on the left,
opposing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s assault on
rights (Tabari and Yeganeh 1982, Moghissi 1994,
Hajebi Tabrizi 2000).
After 1981, leftists and women activists were
imprisoned or exiled. Exiled women organized,
some affiliating with political organizations, others
advocating autonomy. They recounted their tribu-
lations, especially prison experiences (Baràdaràn
1992). Discussions have reassessed culture and pol-
itics through a gender lens; an autonomous women’s
movement has gradually taken root. Women’s
involvement in community activism includes estab-
lishing libraries and family crisis centers; providing
services for expatriates; and broadcasting (Shahi-
dian 1996, Ghorashi 2002).
Those in Iran established study groups and
engaged in writing and publishing. Veterans and
newcomers have revisited leftist approaches to gen-
der. Secular women concentrated on the emerging –
albeit amorphous – women’s movement, rallying
for rights, participating in conferences, organizing
celebrations of 8 March. Some wrote for reformist
journals; others cooperated with reformists but
maintained independence. Their writings were later
published as books and anthologies (Shahidian
2002b).afghanistan
Women’s rights have also been an ingredient of
modernization in Afghanistan, dating from the
early 1900s. Yet weak central governments, tribal
factionalism, reforms from above, and conservative
reactions have retarded gender reforms (Dupree
1980).
Not until the 1964 constitutional debate did
women publicly voice concerns over rights (Dupree
1984). Organized movements soon emerged. Lib-
erals advocated eliminating sex discrimination
and increasing government participation. Socialists
proposed changing the material bases of women’s
oppression by eradicating semi-feudalism and cap-
italism (Emadi 2002).
Under Dàwùd’s presidency, strong student move-
ments developed in the 1970s. Nationalist and left-