1. Hello, My name is Divina and I live in Crystal, Mn. with my husband Erick and our two children, Tyrone and Tyra who are ages 7 and 2. I graduated on May, 2009 with ADN and am currently taking the RN to BSN program at MSUM With work, school and kids, I am super busy but on my free time, I like to read an interesting book, listen to music and shop.

2. Iran Previously called Persia, Iran has a population of about 70 million people. The principle ethnic groups are persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gileki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7% and Arab 3%. Iran has a semi-arid climate and extremely rich in natural resources. Iran has nearly 10% of worlds proven oil reserves, nearly 16% of world’s gas reserves and a considerable quantity of low grade uranium. Due to poor economic planning, sanctions by western countries, low literacy, high birth rates and a long war with Iraq, Iran remains poor with GDP of about $ 7,000 and unemployment of 16%.

3. Iran, women and religion Iran is a religion-based society with Islam as the dominant religion. The Muslims are 89% Shi’a and 10% Sunni. I% of the population are Jewish. The Muslims are guided by the Sharia (Islamic law), and differences between men and women is due to the different status and responsibilities assigned in the Quran(central religious verbal texts). Religion has divinely determined women as subordinate to men and women are owned by men.

4. Women revolution The history of Iran is rich and women have been in the center of the Iranian revolution. Traditionally, Iranian women covered their heads with a veil when in public or in the presence of males not related to them. Ideally, women were confined to the home where they performed domestic tasks and reared children. Women were married off at 13 years old and polygamy was allowed. Segregation of sexes was practiced even in the public education systems where boys and girls had separate schools from elementary to secondary school.

5. Women revolution Many reforms regarding women’s rights began between 1925-1979. In 1936, veiling was banned and women in Iran were forced to unveil. The Pahlavi government encouraged women to be educated and participate in the labor force. Women involvement in society increased in areas such as economics, education sector and the workforce. Women maintained a high level of socio-economic status and were employed and paid depending on their skill and the level of responsibility they assumed. Female managers and supervisors received higher rations, pregnant women received a higher ration than others and women with new-born children received extra rations for one month.

7. Women revolution In1963, women were given the right to vote and hold public office. In 1967, the minimum age for which a female could marry was raised from 13 years to 15 years. Family protection laws were also enacted and women were allowed to divorce. In 1975, minimum age for which a female could marry was raised to 18 years.

8. Islamic revolution In 1979, the Islamic revolution led to the Iranian women losing many rights that they had and the society reverted to traditional Islamic status. The Iranian women were forced to wear veils, their testimony was worth half a man’s in court, their right to inheritance was half of men’s and religion dictated their dress and behavior. Today, the feminism movement in Iran is strong and the women of Iran are still fighting for equality.

9. Reference Goldstein, D. (2009). Iran’s women’s revolution. The Daily Beast. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-06-17/irans-feminist-revolution/ Isseroff, A. (2009). History of modern Iran. Retrieved from http://www.mideastweb.org/iran history/ Sheikholeslami, A.(2010). Iran to intensify controls on clothing, citing “Islamic values”. Retrieved from Bloomberg Businessweek at http://www.bussinessweek.com/news/2010-06-10/iran-to-intensift-controls-on-clothing-citing-islamic-values-html