Iran and AfghanistanIn Western vocabulary the term “jihad” has been
especially used to denote the “sacred war” of
Muslims against their enemies. The 11 September
2001 tragedy has led to the identification of jihad,
which was largely unknown to the Western public,
with terrorism. But jihad also means “effort” made
in social and political domains in order to enhance
the territorial expansion of Islam. Religious au-
thorities are unanimous in maintaining that neither
this “offensive jihad” nor the “sacred war” is com-
pulsory for Muslim women. Martyrdom (shahàda)
associated with participation in these two forms of
jihad is therefore peculiar to male warriors. In
1979, when the Islamic Republic of Iran was
engaged in a war in Iranian Kurdistan, Ayatollah
Khomeini, the leader, declared: “Some womenasked
me for authorization to fight in Kurdistan. They
said they wanted to be martyrs. I did not agree,
arguing that it was not convenient for women, that
the army would do the job.” For a number of reli-
gious authorities, including Ayatollah Khomeini, if
a Muslim country is invaded by non-Muslims, “de-
fensive jihad” becomes mandatory for all Muslims
regardless of their gender, age, or status. Women
and men alike should mobilize to defend the
honor of Islam. For this reason Khomeini endorsed
women’s military training and their enrolment in
the army and the pasdaran(revolutionary guards).
During the Iran-Iraq War (1980–8) women vol-
unteers demanded authorization to go to the front.
The Ayatollah argued that at the time of the
Prophet women went to the front but their main
role was to treat the wounded. Committed Iranian
women participated in “defensive jihad” mainly
through a multitude of activities ranging from tak-
ing care of the wounded or the families of martyrs,
to baking bread or sewing uniforms for the soldiers
of Islam. Although Marziyeh Haddidchi-Dabbagh,
a confidante of Khomeini, one of his bodyguards,
and a member of the second, third, and fifth Islamic
parliaments was appointed commander of the
pasdaranin western Iran, women were not asked
to sacrifice their lives to the community. They were
expected to show their commitment to Islam and to
the Islamic Republic by accepting gendered roles.
As presumed main guardians of traditions they were
required to reinforce Islamic family ties, thereby
maintaining social cohesion.
In Afghanistan, following the Soviet army’s inva-
sion in 1979, the religious authorities did not ask
women to take arms and to fight against the army
of infidels but they and the mujàhidìn(combatants
iran and afghanistan 325of jihad) required women to contribute to the
cause of jihad. The punishment for those who did
not was severe. Mina Keshvar Kamal, a health
worker and founding member of RAWA (Revolu-
tionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan,
a leftist group campaigning for women’s rights and
providing education and health facilities for women
and children), was accused by the Hezb-i Islami (a
fundamentalist group founded by Golboddin Hek-
matyar within the mujàhidìn) of anti-jihad activi-
ties. She was assassinated in 1987 in Quetta.
In Iran as in Afghanistan women are especially
required to participate in a different form of jihad
called jihàd-i nafs, or the effort made by all Muslim
believers to raise themselves to the level of human
perfection through piety and worldly asceticism.
Although jihàd-i nafs concerns both men and
women, its symbols are gendered: the blood of the
martyr and the Islamic veil, with equal symbolic
values. Committed women’s participation in jihàd-i
nafs, however, is not limited to their individual spir-
itual or inner struggle against the vices. Through
engaging in the public sphere, they conduct an
openly political and ideological jihad against
poverty, illiteracy, and the like, in order to construct
an Islamic society. The aim is to empower women
to better serve the society and to be better mothers
and wives. The Fatemeh Zahra Religious Seminary
for women in Tehran trains women mujtahids
(legists engaged in theological interpretation); it
also financially and morally assists deprived women
in order to boost their activities in the public
sphere. The seminary established a credit system,
which collects money from the pious rich and
grants interest-free loans to the poor. It helps poor
families in Tehran and Qom, paying for the educa-
tion of their children, and provides several female
university students with financial assistance. Fate-
meh Amini, its founder, who established the first
religious seminary for women in 1972 declared:
“Our goal is to contribute to women’s development
by giving impetus to their creativity, thereby also
increasing their self-esteem.” Women are also active
in the NehΩat-i Savàd âmùzì(Literacy movement
organization) established in December 1979. It
provides literacy education for adults, especially
women, who comprise the majority of adult learn-
ers. The objectives are to teach reading and writing,
and the promotion and dissemination of Islamic
culture. It is believed that an Islamic society cannot
be built unless women are educated. The female
role models presented in literacy books are Fà†ima
and Zaynab, respectively the daughter and grand-
daughter of the Prophet, symbols of courage and