Shades of feminism in Iran: Islamic feminism between secularization theory and neoimperialism of the West
Marroni, Flavia
Marroni, Flavia
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Abstract
This thesis lies at the intersection of the development of the scholarly discipline of Islamic feminism with the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, and the establishment of the Islamic Republic. Founded primarily by its Iranian proponents, Islamic feminism has sparked profound debates within its field since its inception. By tracing the development of the Iranian women’s movement through an Islamic feminist lens, I argue that the Iranian case challenges the classical secularization thesis (Dixon, 2008), which holds that modernization inevitably causes the decline of religion in the social and political sphere. The women’s movement in Iran has largely been molded by the relationship between religion and the state. Using a desk research case-study approach, this study traces the evolution of the Iranian women’s movement from the time of reforms under Pahlavi (1925-1979)—including the unveiling policies of Reza Shah (1936) and the White Revolution (1963) under Mohammad Reza Shah—to contemporary mobilization movements, especially the Woman, Life, Freedom movement (2022-present). Furthermore, this thesis challenges Western academia which considers the condition of women in Iran as determined by the oppressive theocratic state. Taken in isolation, this is a reductionist top-down conclusion. In contrast, this paper takes a bottom-up approach, highlighting the agency o f Iranian women in their internal struggle through a critical analysis of the modus operandi of the Iranian women’s movement. The scholarship is studied to develop an understanding of the process of negotiation between the women’s movement and the state, which allowed women to gain agency from within, against the gender segregation regime imposed by the Islamic Republic. Considering the influence of global secular feminist vocabularies on Iranian women’s activist movements, it can be deduced that most global feminist discourse is embedded in Western assumptions, with the exception of approaches such as critical 2 feminist theory and intersectional feminist theory. Thus, they are largely inapplicable in non-Western contexts. Instead, I argue that what had become global feminism must be exposed as a rather limited secular feminist framework, built on the principles of liberalism. In order to be universal, global feminist movements need to include shades of feminism which are applicable to non-Western, and non-secular contexts. reframed and adapted to the local context in order to be effective. The development of Islamic feminism as a field of study highlights this need, working within religion to propose reinterpretations of sacred religious texts through a feminist lens which then offer theoretical support of gender equality. Like global feminist movements, this framework challenges the institutionalized patriarchy, but does so without opposing religion. The paper suggests that adopting these instruments would allow the Iranian women’s movement to better respond to the ongoing state repression.
Description
Master of Arts in International Affairs -- John Cabot University, Fall 2025.
Date
2025
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Keywords
Muslim women, Women (Islamic law), Women's rights, Islamic countries, Women in Islam
Citation
Marroni, Flavia. "Shades of feminism in Iran: Islamic feminism between secularization theory and neoimperialism of the West". Master's Thesis, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy. 2025.