By snoadmin
A Cal State Long Beach student learned something about Iranian women during her four-month stay in the country.
They’re a lot like their counterparts in the United States.
“Women in Iran are concerned with the same things American women are: Looking attractive to the opposite sex, getting a good job, receiving an education,” CSULB graduate student Maral Shebjame said.
Shebjame presented her thoughts at the “Sexing the Nuclear” speaker series presented by the Anthropology Graduate Student Association. The series spotlighted three speakers who provided insight on Iranian culture and politics Friday night in the Beach Auditorium.
Shebjame said she spent most of her time in Tehran following women in their 20s from the upper middle class.
“Western media portray Iranian women as women who have no opportunities, but that is not the case,” she said. “They are growing ever more prominent in universities and the workforce.”
While in Iran, Shebjame conducted research on marriage and the act of courting. She talked of the growing modernity in urban cities and the increasing power of women in school, the workforce and marriage.
Also speaking at the event were Cal State Los Angeles professor Afshin Matin-Asgari and UC Irvine professor Nasrin Rahimieh.
Rahimieh talked about the 2009 protests during the re-election of President Ahmadinejad in 2009 and how women were involved in them.
“Iranian women movements have been present in Iran for a very long time. We in America just don’t hear about them a lot,” she said. “The protest against President Ahmadinejad was the first time it was visible for Americans to see that the role of women has expanded in Iran.”
Matin-Asgari told of his experience of joining the street protests.
“I was there with tens of thousands of people in the streets, with tears in my eyes,” he said.
The election brought up emotional memories for both Matin-Asgari and Rahimieh, as it was their first time casting a vote in an Iranian election.
Matin-Asgari’s also confronted the situation regarding whether Iran is attempting to produce nuclear weapons.
“In the United States, Iran is the number one nuclear threat in the world. However, Iran is actually compliant with the UN, unlike other countries such as India,” he said. “So far, even the CIA has notes that there is no evidence that Iran is in the process of making a bomb.”
Many of the attendees highly praised the rare opportunity to hear from those who have visited the country what Iran is really like.
Elhaam Mesghali, a sophomore at UCI and a friend of Shebjame said, “The speakers really surprised me. They gave such an inside look to what Iran is all about.”
Most of the audience members were anthropology majors. Some attended for extra credit, but others were intrigued for other reasons.
“The title is just so provocative. I mean, I associate Iran with nuclear bombs, but not sexuality,” said Sonja Ulrich, a graduate anthropology student.
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