Unveiled: Love and Death Among the Ayatollahs

Rating:
Summary: An incredibly untrue look at women's rights in Iran
Review: This book gives an incredibly untrue look at women's rights in Iran; i would know, i was just there last summer. Women's rights are not nearly as horrific as the book describes it to be; only about five percent of the women actually wear the chador, and they are only the old women who see it not as something forced upon them but as an aspect of their culture. Walking down the long Vali-e-Asr Street in trendy uptown Tehran, you see that the majority of the women wear headscarves only halfway up their heads and long overcoats covering their bodies. They also wear the fashionable sandals now popular, with their feet exposed without a peep from the police. Women also DO wear makeup, something this book says is not allowed. And unlike other Islamic countries, you often see newly weds strolling arm in arm in one of Tehran's many parks. Women enjoy the right to hold political positions and work freely in public places; women hold all the respectable jobs in Iran which they would in the USA. Whoever says that women are mistreated in Iran should visit the country and see the reality for themselves instead of reading trashy, biased, anti-Iran rhetoric such as this book.

Rating:
Summary: Use Your Common Sense When Reading This Garbage
Review: This book is a personal attack on the government which condemned the materialistic excesses of the author's family and the author's 'horror' at seeing her country, Iran, rejecting American culture for its own (with bloody implications, there is no doubt). Just read the first half of the book: a prosperous, high-class family living under an 'umbrella of bliss' that is the regime of the shah; they school in England, vacation in Europe, and occasionally come back to Iran. WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER CLASS? Anyone with any knowledge of Iranian history will know that there were only two classes in Iran under the shah; you were either filthy rich, or drop-dead poor. Although this eventually led to his downfall, the shah was seen as nothing short of a messiah by the high-class, who depended on the givings of this man for their very fortune! When he was toppled by the restless people who weren't 'as lucky' as Mosteshahr's family, the author begins her tirade against the government and Islam in general for taking away her family's prodigious fortune for a more equal society! Although there is no doubt that Khomeini's regime executed many people and imprisoned countless others, one should not attack a new society just because it rejected the 'cherished' American values the author was raised in for its own traditional culture (albight radically changed)! The author should be ashamed of herself for rejecing Iranian culture in general. For example, just look at her name: 'CHERRY.' Is 'Cherry' an Iranian name! There are countless other examples of furor over a society which reverts back to its own traditions. If someone wants to attack the Iranian government, they should do it with merit. As another reviewer said, many of the laws the author provided as evidence toward 'oppressing women' were in effect long before the Islamic Republic came into being. And that brings us to another interesting discussion: Are women really 'oppressed' in Iran? True, they must conform to Islamic dress, but what else? Half the value of a man? Being an American who has traveled extensively throughout the Mid East, I can safely conclude that women have the same rights as any other man (or human being). Just look at the majilis (Iranian Senate). I see more Iranian women active in politics than I see here in America. Women ARE NOT forced to wear the chador, as indeed most women in Iran don't. Women in Iran, as opposed to Western women who like to wear as little as possible, are more free from the dangers of rape or sexual abuse than in other countries. Women serve in the police and have their own army regiments in the Pasdaran. The only complaint I hear from Iranian women (which is readily available in this garbage of a book) is the fact that they want to 'dress like American women,' but can't because Iranian society places more respect on the feminine body as something to not show off to others.' This follows the basic principles of Christianity (take nuns) and Judaism; therefore are they 'restrictive' religions? Give me a break. To anyone who reads this book, know this: some Iranian women want to 'be like America,' and when they can't, start screaming words like 'oppressive' and 'nightmares in Iran.' If it's wrong to respect age-old morality about our bodies, then God help us all.

Rating:
Summary: this book is out of date
Review: this book was written a long time ago in the perspective of iranian time this is a country who experienced a reveloution 20 years ago it is fast developing - the account of no makeup being allowed is out of date along with many other issues. Iran is developing very quickly and even though it is true that now women are much freer. (i visited iran summer 2000) Even 3 years ago most of the freedoms i took for granted this year were non-exsistant - iran is a rapidly developing country and this is an account of one womans experiences. I think it is good to make people aware of the suffering which has occured and still occurs - and the fact wich is still very much a reality that women, at least in public veiw are classed as a controlled sex and have very little choice in their public lives because of the governments need to control - but it gives a bad veiw of iran. Literature about Iran must be like the country itself developing, read this book but keep in mind, people deal with situations in different ways - there are many different families and lives in Iran and this is only a (now almost outdated) glimps into one of the lives - lets hope Iran keeps developing and stories like this become wholly outdated because in my opinion Iran is a beautiful and historical country who can benfit with the freedom of both its men and women.

Rating:
Summary: Honest and painful
Review: Why the questioning of Mrs. Mosteshar's motives? A very honest and clear account of ONE person's experiences. How would we feel in the same circumstances? Have some compassion, you cynical, self-righteous types. This was a very moving account of one person's experience and reaction to a totally different life method. Sad, basic, tragic and a comment on the arrogance we all have about ourselves before we hit real life (whether that be our own or one forced upon us for whatever reason) Our control or power over our own destiny should not be taken for granted whether we be male or female. It took guts for Mrs Mosteshar to expose her own strengths and weaknesses and in so doing ,alert us to the very real situation of many women in that particular Muslim regime. Well done.