Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
. Ph.D Student in Political Studies of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA) and Islamic Revolution Research Institute, Tehran, Iran.
2
Associate Professor, Islamic Revolution Studies Department, Imam Khomeini (RA) and Islamic Revolution Research Institute, Tehran, Iran
3
. Associate Professor of Political Science, Islamic Revolution Studies Department, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Throughout history, and particularly in Iran, women have gradually evolved from marginalized individuals to active activists in various social, political, and cultural arenas, especially following the victory of the Islamic Revolution. Generally, three major perspectives have emerged regarding the role of women in Iranian society and the public sphere. The first perspective is the traditional view, which confines women primarily to the home, defining their roles mainly as "housewives" and caregivers responsible for childrearing. The second perspective encompasses various feminist viewpoints, with a central focus on achieving equality between men and women. The third approach is based on the ideas of Imam Khomeini, who, while acknowledging the differences between men and women, assigns women a prominent role in the public sphere alongside their responsibilities as wives and mothers. The primary objective of this research is to identify the components of women's empowerment in Imam Khomeini's thought, using the framework presented in Sarah Lange's theory. The primary question of this article is which components of women's empowerment, as outlined in Sarah Lange's theory, can be identified in Imam Khomeini's thought. Accordingly, the research hypothesis posits that the five components of women's empowerment in Lange's theory—participation, access, awareness, welfare, and control—can be derived from Imam Khomeini's thought through literature specific to him. Research and data collection methods: This study employed documentary analysis, gathering data from library sources and analyzing it based on Sarah Lange's theory of women's empowerment. The research findings confirm the hypothesis and demonstrate that the five stages in Sarah Lange's theory can be identified within Imam Khomeini's thought, supported by literature specific to him. Additionally, based on available statistics and data, significant progress has been made in women's empowerment across various sectors; however, Iranian society still requires further advancement in many areas of women's empowerment.
Extended Abstract
Purpose: The issue of the socio-political status and role of women in Iran has always been at the center of intellectual and jurisprudential disputes since the Constitutional Revolution. The confrontation between restrictive traditional views, egalitarian feminist approaches, and innovative religious readings has caused the discussion of “women’s empowerment” to become one of the main axes of policy-making and theorizing after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. The present article aims to analyze the components of women’s empowerment in Imam Khomeini’s thought and to adapt it to Sarah Langeh’s theoretical framework. The main question of the research is which of the five components of empowerment in Langeh’s theory (welfare, access, awareness, participation, and control) can be recognized and reinterpreted in Imam Khomeini’s intellectual system.
Methodology: This research examines the components of empowerment in three areas: political, social, and cultural, using an analytical-descriptive method and relying on the works, statements, and messages of Imam Khomeini. The theoretical framework of the article is based on Sarah Langeh’s empowerment theory, which considers empowerment to be a domino and staged process: it begins with ensuring welfare, continues with expanding access to resources and promoting gender awareness, reaches equal participation in decision-making, and finally ends with the stage of control and balance of power between women and men. In this theory, gender inequalities are the product of discriminatory social structures, not women’s inherent weaknesses.
Findings: The research findings show that although Imam Khomeini did not use Langeh’s theoretical literature, the five components of empowerment can be extracted from his language and intellectual foundations in his works. In the “welfare” component, Imam Khomeini provides the basis for eliminating “gender gaps” by emphasizing education, literacy, the presence of women in scientific and cultural fields, and paying attention to their economic rights. He considers education to be the foundation for women’s material and spiritual advancement and introduces it as a prelude to playing an active role in society. The narrowing of the literacy gap between women and men in the decades after the revolution is one of the practical consequences of this approach.
In the “access” component, Imam Khomeini emphasizes the equality of women and men in enjoying social and political opportunities. Expressions such as “alongside men” or “just like men” indicate an effort to eliminate inequality in access to sources of power, education, and political participation. At the same time, he distinguishes between freedom in the sense of human dignity and freedom in the sense of objectification of women, and emphasizes the preservation of women’s dignity and personality in the process of accessing opportunities. Post-revolutionary policy measures, including programs to support female heads of households and economic empowerment plans for rural women, are evaluated in terms of strengthening this component; However, the persistence of some patriarchal structures shows that the full realization of this goal is still a challenge.
In the “awareness” component, Imam Khomeini emphasizes the elimination of superstitions, incorrect readings of religion, and traditional restrictive perceptions. He called on women to consciously participate in cultural, political, and social scenes and considered the origin of many deprivations to be “unfamiliarity with the laws of Islam” or historical impositions. This approach is consistent with the awareness stage in Langeh’s theory; a stage in which women must realize that existing inequalities are not natural and unchangeable, but are the product of social structures that can be corrected. Education and training, in the Imam’s thought, are the main means of promoting this awareness.
In the “participation” component, Imam Khomeini considers the active presence of women in the Islamic movement, elections, the parliament, and other decision-making institutions essential. He recognized the right to vote and self-determination for women, just like men, and introduced their participation as a condition for the progress of Islamic society. The available statistics on the increase in women’s presence in parliament, city and village councils, and executive and managerial positions indicate the relative growth of women’s political participation after the revolution, although their share of high managerial positions remains limited and below the desired level.
Finally, in the “control” component, which is considered the highest stage of empowerment in Langeh’s theory, Imam Khomeini emphasizes the role of women in controlling their individual and social destiny. From a jurisprudential perspective, women own their own property and wages, and from a political perspective, they are free to participate in determining the country’s destiny. The Imam’s emphasis that “the choice is in your own hands” and his invitation to participate in referendums and elections indicate a move towards a balance of power and women’s escape from a position of inferiority. In this context, empowerment does not mean replacing patriarchy with feminism, but rather achieving equality in power and social responsibility.
Discussion and Conclusion: In conclusion, it can be said that Imam Khomeini's thought offers a moderate approach to women's empowerment that, while accepting the developmental differences between men and women, emphasizes equality in human dignity, the right to participation, and access to opportunities. Comparative analysis shows that the five components of Sarah Langeh's theory, with their epistemological and fundamental differences, can be reinterpreted in Imam Khomeini's intellectual system. Accordingly, the article's hypothesis that it is possible to extract the stages of empowerment from the Imam's thought is confirmed, although the full realization of these components in the social and political arena of Iran still requires rethinking some structures and policies.
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