|
Rumi
Women
To live or to be alive?
That is the question for Iranian women
By Laleh Khalili
A woman is not to instigate conversations. She is to dance beautifully,
she is to entertain, she is to serve fruit and tea and food, but she is
not to begin conversations with strange men even at a party of friends.
She is the nurturer and the seductress. I fail miserably at these roles.
I voice my boredom. I don't hide my intelligence or my interests. I don't
dance too well. I laugh too loudly. I am more at home in "male"
conversations. I know not how to flirt or seduce in this particularly complex
Iranian way where you drive the man away and you call him back, where you
look at him from under your eyelashes, where a turn of the shoulder and
the motion of hesitant fingertips can be pregnant with meaning. I am something
else, perhaps unbecomingly unfeminine, dangerous perhaps, unknowingly so
... GO
TO FEATURE
Outlook
Iran's municipal elections a resounding success for
women
TEHRAN, March 2 (AFP) - Iranian women have put up a strong showing in
the country's first ever municipal elections, a trend highlighted by the
victory of reformist President Mohammad Khatami's sister.
Fatemeh Khatami told AFP Tuesday she garnered 16,000 votes, three times
more than her closest rival, in the central desert town of Ardakan, the
home of the Khatami family, and where the president was born.
"I considered that my age prevented me from undertaking such activities,
but the people encouraged me to stand," said the 61-year-old mother
of six.
"I have always worked to propagate culture and religion, but now
we shall have to provide remedies for people's problems," she said
... FULL TEXT
Forwarded by Payman Arabshahi
Anyway
Shirazis vote casual
Note from an observer in Iran posted on the Gulf2000 alias:
The results of the city council elections in Shiraz are quite interesting:
a) Nine out of 11 elected are pro-Khatami technocrat-literate candidates.
Of the remaining two, one is conservative and the other belongs to a famous
local clerical-family (the Dastgheibs), but both of them are non-clerical
and happen to be engineers.
b) While the pro-Khatami "May 23 Coalition" succeeded in getting
7 of its 11 candidates elected, none of the Kargozaran (Construction Executive)
Party candidates were elected (in fact they were not even among the top
15). The "May 23 Coalition" in Shiraz comprise the Iran Islamic
Participation Front Party and the Student, Physician, Engineer, and Teachers
Islamic Associations.
c) The 11 elected include: 4 medical doctors, 4 engineers, 1 PhD (sociology
professor), and 1 MA/MS. Two women (MD and MA/MS), and a 30-year-old student-candidate
(Shiraz University Medical School Student Islamic Association member) won
the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places. The first place was won by an independent
(Shiraz University Medical School professor).
d) The total votes cast in the city of Shiraz amounted to 470,000.
More Letters
* Silicone
Nariman Neyshapouri writes:
Dear Angylina,
Silicone parts are made for toys. Also, next time try having someone
proofread what you write. Say hello to your "attourney".
* I was born in [BLANK]
Simin Habibian writes: Since [you
quoted part
of Angylina's biogrpahy] she has taken out the part that says she is
from Tehran, Iran.
* Women: Celebrating Woman's Day in
Sunnyvale
Society of Iranian Professionals
in northern California is proud to honor Women's Day on March 5th, 1999.
Come join us as we celebrate the accomplishments of all women of the world,
and in particular Iranian women.
Program Details:
- Main speaker: Dr. Pouran Eslami, Sociologist, Anthropologist, and
Archeologist University of California,Irvine. Her lecture on March 5th,1999
is entitled "Family, woman, and Shahnameh" and "Role of
Women in Ghajar dynasty" ... MORE
INFORMATION
Book of the Week
Zoroaster
Life and Work of the Forerunner in Persia
Not really a collection of sacred texts, yet crucial to an understanding
of one of the world's great religious traditions, is Zoroaster: Life
and Work of the Forerunner in Persia.
Designed for a general audience, this biography of Zoroastrianism's
prophet is sure to generate interest in the early religion of Persia from
which Judaism and Christianity drew so much. -- Publisher's Weekly
Recent
featured books
THE IRANIAN
Bookstore
New! Bestsellers
New! Books
on Rumi
Copyright © 1997 Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights
Reserved. May not be duplicated or distributed in any form
|
More
news
Hard-liner threatens to nullify votes in
Iran's local elections
TEHRAN,
Iran (AP) - Allies of Iran's moderate president triumphed in local elections
in the capital and prevented hard-liners winning a single race, according
to preliminary results Monday. The tally from Friday's voting for thousands
of municipal council seats elsewhere in Iran may not be counted for several
days. The hard-line chairman of the electoral supervision board vowed to
challenge the results from Tehran ... FULL TEXT
Latest vote count in Tehran
Tehran,
March 2, (IRNA) - Reformist candidates are still leading in the latest vote
count in Tehran. The final results are not due until Friday. Here's a list
of the top 21 vote getters ... FULL PERSIAN IMAGE TEXT
''Star Chamber'' arrest hits Iran reformers
TEHRAN, March 2 (Reuters) - Just as Iran's first nationwide local
polls appeared to cement the power of President Mohammad Khatami and his
reformist allies, hardliners have struck back by jailing one of the country's
leading liberal Islamic thinkers. The detention at the weekend of Mohsen
Kadivar by the Special Court for the Clergy, which meets behind closed doors
and without due process, has touched off a storm of criticism and demands
for the abolition of the court as an undemocratic holdover of a bygone era
... FULL TEXT
U.S. to review Iran-Europe oil deal
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - The United States said on Tuesday
it will review a new $1 billion Iran-Europe oil deal for violations of U.S.
sanctions law but the possibility of penalties that could sour trans-Atlantic
ties seemed remote. Nevertheless, State Department spokesman James Foley
noted that Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, discussing last year's
decision to waive sanctions on a $2 billion deal involving France's Total
SA and two other firms, promised more waivers for European Union companies
so long as the EU cooperated with Washington on Iran policy ... FULL TEXT
U.S. senators call for allowing wheat exports
to Iran
WASHINGTON,
March 2 (AFP) - A group of US senators is calling for lifting restrictions
on exports of wheat and other agricultural products to Iran. Byron Dorgan,
a Democrat from North Dakota, and Republicans Larry Craig of Idaho and Richard
Lugar of Indiana, met Monday with national security adviser Sandy Berger
to discuss the matter, spokesmen for the lawmakers said ... FULL TEXT
Gulf Arabs call emergency meeting on Iran
dispute
ABU DHABI, March 2 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday
called an emergency meeting with its Gulf Arab allies to discuss Iranian
military exercises near three disputed islands. ``The UAE called for an
emergency meeting of the ministerial council of the Gulf Cooperation Council
to discuss Iran's violations and the military manoeuvres in the UAE's territorial
waters,'' the official WAM news agency said ... FULL TEXT
The Pear Tree
Tehran,
March 2, (IRNA) - An interesting review of Daryush Mehrjuie's latest film,
"The Pear Tree" ... FULL PERSIAN IMAGE TEXT
Khatibi off to Kuwait
Tehran,
March 2, (IRNA) - Iranian national team forward Hossein Khatibi has signed
a contract to play with a Kuwaiti team ... FULL PERSIAN IMAGE TEXT
Asian tabble tennis stars in Kish
Tehran, March 2, (IRNA) - Asia's top table tennis players faced
off in a tournament in Kish Island ... FULL PERSIAN IMAGE TEXT
On TV
Program on Iranian girl soccer players
Mehrdad Masoudi writes: This
is an dvisory regarding Futbol Mundial's piece on young Iranian girls playing
football. Please take note of the following:
Futbol Mundial North America: Fox Sports World Repeat shows: Wednesday,
March 3 (16:00 EST) and Friday, March 5 (13:00 EST)
$ Rate
Updated March 1
The
dollar now offered at up to 835-845 tomans
Source: Sehaty Exchange (U.S.) Tel: 602-595-0777
Business
news
The Web
Iran
Ancient
Iran
More than two hundred images - and growing almost daily.
From The Oriental Institute - Chicago
Beyond Iran
Astronomy
Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a there
is a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe, along with
a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
More
web sites
Quote Unquote
Magnificnet living
I often wonder if this young generation of fatalistic women who have
to create multiple personalities for themselves merely to cope with and
within the various social spheres, know of the long-dead poet Forugh Farrokhzad,
and what they think of her; this woman who chose to leave her husband and
child behind, became a "loose woman", chose a married man for
a lover, wrote her dazzling potent poetry, made her exquisite films, abused
every norm and broke every taboo, to surpass being alive, in order to wholly,
magnificently live.
Laleh Khalili
"To live or to be alive"
The Iranian
March 2, 1999
Photo of the Day
Zoroastrians
& kashf-e hejab
More
photos
Music
Musician of the Week
Sohrab
Sepehri
Poetry recited by Khosro Shakibaie
Music
artists index |
