美国国家公共电台 NPR--Struggle for gender equality in Iran began generations before the latest protests

Struggle for gender¹ equality in Iran began generations before the latest protests

Transcript²

In light of the ongoing³ protests in Iran, NPR history podcast Throughline explores Iranian women's long history of political activism.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

For nearly two months, Iranians have been protesting following the death of a woman in the custody⁴ of Iran's morality police. She was detained for allegedly wearing her hijab inappropriately. And her name was Mahsa Amini. She's also known by her Kurdish name, Jina Amini. She's from Iran's Kurdish minority, which has historically faced state repression⁶. Now, the symbol of the protests following her death has often been the hijab, but the story goes much deeper than that. Today Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei from NPR's history podcast Throughline explore how women's long history of political activism in Iran is also part of the Iranian people's fight for self-determination.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

RUND ABDELFATAH, BYLINE⁷: Women have been at the center of politics in Iran for more than a hundred years. By the time of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, they'd won freedoms, including the right to vote and initiate⁸ divorce.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: The end of Iran's monarchy⁹ came early today when Khomeini's followers¹⁰ took control of the palace of the shah.

ABDELFATAH: But within weeks of toppling the shah, Iran's new leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, began restricting women's activities and dress, starting with an order that they cover their heads in government offices. This kicked off years of battles between the clerics and leaders running the country and women who were pushing back, looking for ways to gain autonomy, even under restrictive laws.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).

RAMTIN ARABLOUEI, BYLINE: In 1997, nearly 20 years after the revolution, there was a historic presidential election in Iran, where nearly 80% of eligible¹¹ voters turned out. And the winner was a cleric named Ayatollah Mohammad Khatami. Western media portrayed¹² him as a moderate.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: The smiling face of moderation, or at least what's considered moderate in Iran.

ARZOO OSANLOO: Some social freedoms with Khatami were starting to emerge. Young people could walk together, you know, boyfriends and girlfriends hold hands in public.

ARABLOUEI: This is Arzoo Osanloo, an Iranian American legal anthropologist¹³ who's studied Iran's legal system for decades.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #3: He has promised more rights, more freedom and a better life within the Islamic system.

ABDELFATAH: During the Khatami presidency¹⁴, women began pushing more and more against the dress code, too, and more women were elected to Parliament than any time since the revolution, proposing laws that would further strengthen the rights of women. Many of Iran's conservatives didn't like it.

OSANLOO: This is around when we started to see a lot of pushback to women's ability to employ and make use of the actual existing Iranian constitution and the set of civil codes, enhance them and get rights and concessions¹⁵.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Non-English language spoken).

ARABLOUEI: In 2005, Mohammad Khatami left office after serving two terms as president. So Iranian voters went to the polls and elected a new president, a man who'd never held national office.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #4: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

OSANLOO: When Ahmadinejad becomes president, he actually campaigns on this platform that really speaks to a greater emphasis on so-called traditional roles, what some people might call conservative roles of women as nurturers, raising the children and guiding the family.

ARABLOUEI: Ahmadinejad took a much more conservative line than Khatami.

OSANLOO: There is an uptake, again, of women's bodily comportment, their clothing, how they express themselves in public and a kind of surveillance of women.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

ABDELFATAH: To be clear, this surveillance also included violence. Iran's morality police force was established in the 1990s to enforce social rules, like proper hijab for women. Under the Ahmadinejad administration, they became more aggressive in their enforcement, which included arrests, alleged⁵ beatings and sometimes lashings. So in 2009, when Ahmadinejad won his second term, protests erupted in what became known as the Green Movement.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #5: The incumbent¹⁶, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was announced as the overwhelming winner. But many Iranians refuse to believe it.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in non-English language).

ARABLOUEI: Government forces cracked down hard, killing¹⁷ people in the street and arresting thousands. The regime was willing to go to great lengths to scale back the reforms many people, including women, had fought hard to win.

OSANLOO: Iran is a country that is still in a revolution. If you look at the constitution, it's the constitution of the Revolutionary Islamic Republic. And so the way that the women are dressed comes to stand in for this timelessness of the revolutionary struggle. And so the idea of women sort of not wearing this, what does that mean for our incomplete revolutionary struggle that we're fighting?

ABDELFATAH: And so after the Green Movement was squashed by government repression, the work of the morality police went on, including the surveillance.

OSANLOO: The better term for this is guidance police. And I think we can also see how this is an echo of the (non-English language spoken), the guardianship¹⁹ of the jurisprudence, because one of the big debates was - what does it mean to be a guide, a moral guide or a guardian¹⁸ of jurisprudence? Are you just somebody who's there to, like, suggest I change my practices? Or are you there with veto power? And I think we know the answer to the (non-English language spoken) today. We know very well.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Say her name.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Mahsa.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Say her name.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Mahsa.

ABDELFATAH: It is a brutal²⁰ cycle. Iranian women carve out more space and more rights, and the regime tightens²¹ its grip in response.

OSANLOO: It's not just about Islam. It's not just about the state. It's about something greater. And it's about what women - not men - what women signify for the state beyond Iran, not just in Iran. It's a message about the revolutionary values that have guided and led Iran's Islamic Republic since 1979.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

FADEL: That was Arzoo Osanloo speaking with Throughline hosts Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei. You can hear the whole episode by finding Throughline wherever you get your podcasts.

1 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

5 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

6 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

9 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

10 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

11 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

12 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

14 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

15 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

16 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

17 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

18 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

19 guardianship   

n. 监护, 保护, 守护

参考例句：

• They had to employ the English language in face of the jealous guardianship of Britain. 他们不得不在英国疑忌重重的监护下使用英文。
• You want Marion to set aside her legal guardianship and give you Honoria. 你要马丽恩放弃她的法定监护人资格，把霍诺丽娅交给你。

20 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

21 tightens   

收紧( tighten的第三人称单数 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• One set of provisions tightens emission standards. 一套使排放标准更加严格的规定。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Requires no special tools or fittings; hand tightens to relief valve outlet. 不需要专用工具或管件；用手将其紧固到安全阀上即可。