Shirin Saeidi

This article is translated by Shirin Saeidi, and originally appeared in Etemaad on February 7, 2008:

Society group, Mahdi Afruzmanesh: The 29th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution coincides with assessments from government, state and military officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the role of women in such sensitive areas as the revolution and war. In most recent discussions, which occurred last week, the director of women representatives in Majlis, although mistakenly referencing Simon Bulivar of Venezuela while intending to reference the French Simone de Beauvoir philosopher and feminist theorist, nevertheless asserted naming one of the streets in Tehran “Shahid Women,” corresponding with a conference on the martyred women of Iran held by Bonyad Shahid [Martyrs Institute] of the Islamic Revolution. This event, especially in conjunction with attempts at alternative representations of the revolutionary women of Iran, is noteworthy. In contrast to previous years, during which the Fajr Festival and the Week of Holy Defense focused solely on the role of men in the revolution and war, in recent years and particularly this year, we are paying closer attention to female revolutionaries. Not women standing by husband’s engaged in the struggle, but women who individually embodied the full character of a resistant force. It is in this context, and for the first time, that national discussions are held regarding women tortured by SAVAK, armed female members of organizations during the revolution, and female military and operative agents during the war.

It was last year that a former war commander mentioned classified missions were at times under the guidance of female soldiers. This year too, the state deputy and the director of Bonyad Shahid of the Islamic Republic reiterated the existence of such positions held by women: “Female soldiers in the Imposed War had a significant role.” According to statistics from Bonyad Shahid, during the years of the revolution and war, more than 6,600 women were martyred under the previous regime and bombings during the war with Iraq, but there exists biographies from only 5,000 of these women. This data does not include statistics on female prisoners of war, with some spending years in the most notorious Iraqi prisons, including Abu Ghraib.

In contrast to mainstream depiction of women’s role in the revolution and war, presenting them at most as a dedicated wife or a kind mother, new literature posits women as militant forces in the revolution and armed fighters in the war. In recently published memoirs, some female prisoners of war even discuss torture in Iraqi prisons and the steadfastness of female soldiers. For example, the following is stated in Fatemeh Nahidi’s memoir regarding her experience as a prisoner of war in Dowre-ye Darha ye-Basteh: “Maryam had fallen in a state of unconsciousness, Masoomeh and Halemeh screamed, Ya Hussein, Ya Hussein, they would say, I rested Maryam’s head on my legs, we had such little energy that our screams were closer to soft weeping, Maryam and Masoomeh had developed stomach ulcers, but we continued with our hunger strike. The Iraqis were frightened. Finally, due to our efforts, after 17 days, the Red Cross visited us, they took pictures of us really quickly, give us a blue and yellow slip to write letters to our families, and we rained victorious through struggle being transferred from Al-Rashid prison to a center for prisoners of war.”

It has only been agreed upon to name five alleys and culdesacs after martyred women in recognition of all the women martyred during the revolution and war, while there exists a total of 18,000 streets, alleys and culdesacs in Tehran. The Street of Shahid Marzieh Turkistani in area four, the street of Shahid Sedigheh and Abdul Hamid Rudbari in area eight, a culdesac for Shahid Shokat Morad in area one, and street of Shahid Somayyeh Konjeh and Shahid Samareh Savariyan in area eight and sixteen according to the municipality of Tehran. This is while the naming of streets and squares after martyrs and in remembrance of them has been occurring since the victory of the Islamic Revolution under the authority of Iranian state officials. This practice, which began before the war in 1979 for martyrs of the Islamic Revolution, and later officials martyred during the first days of the Islamic Republic, became more extensive with the start of the war. During the war, commissions for naming regions after martyrs were formed within municipality, and became the most active segments of these local organizations throughout the country. This naming practice, nevertheless, was geared more toward men and rarely enhanced recognition of female martyrs. In fact, naming in recognition of martyred women seemed incomprehensible at times and was halted due to the possibility of lighthearted remarks within society regarding the presence of women at the warfront. Nevertheless, it seems the path of recognizing female martyrs in the war, however limited and minor as it may be, demonstrates a transformation in perspectives held by state officials regarding the war.

This point becomes significant, for typically in Iranian cities, particularly the city of Tehran, the naming of streets, although done without official documentation, is in the hands of powerful organs. The naming of highly populated and remote regions in cities, usually takes place in three different ways, and each approach is a reflection of an independent decision making body. For example, while people have the right to change the name of an alley or a backstreet street at their own discretion, the naming of major streets and highways are based on government decisions made in accordance with the perspectives of the Islamic Republic.

Therefore we can conclude from the naming of these few alleys in Iran’s capital after female martyrs, which stands in sharp contrast to official discourse on the role of women in the war, new perspectives are taking form. This is despite the fact that much current literature is from the limited vantage point of women as partners of martyrs, prisoners of war or veterans, not as individuals directly engaged in resistance. At the same time, the publication of this form of literature in the field of war and women, is to a certain extent, meaningful.

Based on the 2002 gender statistics on war veterans from Bonyad Janbazan and Isargaran [Institute for Veterans], the total number of female veterans is 5,735 from which 3, 075 individuals retain above 25% physical, mental or emotional injuries. Furthermore, based on informal statistics regarding women and the war, nearly 200 books on the role of women in the war have been published in the form of novels, documentaries, articles and lectures. Within the set, about 40 books are memoirs by women who served at the warfront, in hospitals or organizations, or became entangled with the war due to their husbands’ and children’s activism. However, within this collection only ten books directly address women who experienced the warfront as soldiers and nurses, but within these confined resources, readers can still imagine the realities faced by women during the war.