“But What If Someone Sees Me’ Women, Risk and the Aftershocks of Iran’s Sexual Revolution”: A Letter to Professor Mahdavi

Dear Professor Mahdavi,

I had the chance to attend your lecture, “But What If Someone Sees Me’ Women, Risk and the Aftershocks of Iran’s Sexual Revolution”, and I wanted to thank you for sharing your research with the Scripps College community. Your presentation on Iranian women’s rights and the ‘Sexual Revolution’ was truly thought provoking. Although I was aware of the fact that pre-marital sex in Iran was frowned upon, I was oblivious to the fact that it could result in jail time, lashings and severe public humiliation.
As an American woman, I take for granted my ability to buy condoms without the threat of arrest and to obtain accurate sexual health information from my healthcare provider. It was shocking to me and, judging by the reaction of those who were sitting around me, to other members of the audience as well, that some of the young women you interviewed were more concerned about being caught having pre-marital sex with their boyfriends then contracting the HIV virus. It was also interesting to learn that, on average, Iranian girls have their first sexual encounter when they are fourteen years old, but do not receive sexual education until a few weeks before they are married around the age of twenty-four. The fact that some sexually active young women are spending ten or more years of their lives almost completely ignorant of the dangers of unprotected sex, is not only detrimental to their personal health, but also to that of the community as a whole, because it increases the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
I was also moved by your story about the ‘Summer of Cockroaches’ and the picture of the young woman wearing the traditional hijab with bright red lipstick. As you mentioned in your lecture, the fact that these women are “…speaking to the [government] regime through their bodies”, is extremely courageous. As an American child of the 90’s, I grew up in a period where my mother’s generation and previous generations before her had already waged many of the battles for women’s equality in America. Although today’s group of young American women are far from complacent in regards to gender issues, I highly doubt that we are united enough to stage a mass protest against the government via text message organization, as Iranian women did in the summer of 2002.
The ‘Sexual Revolution’ in Iran is a very important issue, and one that seems to be largely ignored by world news syndicates. As a citizen of a country where Iran is mostly talked about in terms of nuclear proliferation, it was refreshing to hear a more humanist perspective. The current ‘Sexual Revolution’ in Iran is an inherently messy subject because it pushes the boundaries of both the Iranian government regime and the state’s interpretation of Sharia Law. Even though it is impossible to determine right from wrong when examining fundamental belief systems, I believe that sexual education and the right to practice safe sex are basic human rights that all women should possess.
Once again, I would like to thank you for sharing your research on the ‘Sexual Revolution’ in Iran and I look forward to reading you book, Passionate Uprisings, over summer break.
Sincerely,
Perris Fiori