WOMEN WITHOUT MEN: A TALE OF WOMEN IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

Tina Jose

Assistant Professor, Department of English, St. Stephen’s College, Kerala, India, tinaannrebecca@gmail.com

 

Abstract

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been at the forefront of news in the media for various reasons especially for its nuclear programme. Lesser known is its women who rally for democratic measures every day. Before the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the women of this country were seen as some of the most advanced in the world. Following the revolution, women faced segregation and sidelining as a result of the new laws based on the Shari a.

In this context, this paper attempts to view the condition of women in Iran through the novella by the Iranian writer Shahrnush Parsipur – Women without Men. Parsipur, who has been in exile a few years after the revolution, attempts to trace the problems faced by Iranian women today. Written in the style of magical realism, the book traces the lives of five women as they make their way to a garden in Karaj and eventually find themselves, going on to create new lives for themselves. Each of the women, be it Mahdokht who becomes a tree, or Farrokhlaqa, who becomes a socialite, find solace and respite in the garden before transforming themselves into something new.

Despite being written in the style of magical realism, to evade government censors, the audience gets a glimpse of life in Iran for women after the revolution and how they are fighting back with every ounce possible. Women in Iran are taking to the streets to protest the regime. They are taking to public unveiling to protest the crackdown by the country’s law enforcers – the basiji. They are even using Internet campaigns in plenty, in the hope that the laws might change to provide them with the freedom they once knew. Women without Men thus becomes a reflection of not only these events, but also the struggle by women in Iran to come to terms with a strict regime and how they find liberation despite the debilitating circumstances.

Keywords: Iran, women, Women without Men, Sharnush Parsipur