essay
Sources of female power in Iran
In the eye of the storm : women in post-revolutionary Iran • London • Published In 1994 • Pages: 151-167, 214-216
By: Friedl, Erika.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this paper, Friedl argues that in spite of women's subordinate position in Iranian society, they are able to derive some power to effect change in their lives and those of others. Following a dialectic logic, Friedl shows how women counter the dominating discourse to access and use power. This power potential of women is discussed in four contexts: household, work, religion and government. By being a super housekeeper, a woman brings prestige to the household, makes family members dependent on her services, and gives her control of household resources. As a wage earner, women have the additional advantage of controlling their own money to assert their priorities. Women can use piety as a manipulative strategy, as well, such as gaining a job promotion. Mothers of martyrs, successful pilgrims, and descendents of the Prophet all carry respect and are a source of potential power. Even in sex-segregated schools, Friedl sees women having more opportunity to express themselves, develop confidence in their knowledge, and practice leadership skills.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Normal garb
- Labor supply and employment
- Gender status
- Family relationships
- Social control
- Sex and marital offenses
- General character of religion
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Iran
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Middle East
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Middle East
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 2005
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1965-1992
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1965-1992
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Iran
- NotesAdditional notes
- Erika Friedl
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 93049077
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Iranians