MICHAEL WALSH INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM SINCE 1983. The scourge of Western propaganda is again destroyed as Fiorella Isabel, journalist, geopolitical analyst and American journalist recounts her experience in the Islamic nation and how it differs from pictures in Western media. One of the oldest and most culturally rich countries in West Asia, Iran (Persia) holds relics of the rise and fall of empires of the past. Tehran, its capital and largest city, full of architectural wonders, has a population of 9.5 million.

But it is in Mashhad, a city in the northeast of the country, known as a place for religious pilgrimage, that I, along with over 100 other women in the media, attended the Khorsheed Media Festival. The purpose was to connect women in journalism and expose them to the realities of Iran, especially, to the role of women in its society.

Woven among the streets of Tehran and Mashhad is where the noticeable differences between what Western media alleges about Iran and its treatment of women, versus the reality on the ground, became much clearer. According to Western media, women in Iran have little to no rights, and protests within Iran have erupted, with support from the US and other Western countries, calling for the freedom of these oppressed women. 

These voices in hot pursuit of Iran’s oil well grew louder after the case of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who allegedly died in police custody from being brutally beaten by the so-called morality police for not adhering to the dress code. Police denied they had ever touched her or even made an arrest. The president of Iran immediately called for an investigation and mourned her death with the US demanding intervention and calling for the abolishment of the government.

CCTV footage later revealed that after Amini and an officer merely exchanged words, she collapsed before she was taken to the hospital where she later died. Further, forensics from a coroner’s report on Amini showed her death was not caused by a blow to the head, but by multiple organ failure caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. It was also confirmed by medical professionals that she had a brain tumour and had previously gone to the hospital for treatment.

Having traveled to other countries labeled ‘brutal dictatorships’, where, as an American I was told not to go, like Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela, and Russia, which ended up being far from the painted evil, I had a pretty keen idea that I would not be seeing exactly what Western media claimed. But I was immediately more than shocked upon arriving at the airport in Tehran and seeing a woman with no headscarf in front of a police officer, getting into a vehicle without being harassed or even told to cover up. The surprises would keep coming. I saw women in cafes and streets not wearing the headscarf at all, and there was hardly even a glance from most. Although alcohol is banned in Iran, there was dancing, singing, and many families celebrating the weekend in a cafe, but there were also several women in the presence of men and their families not wearing a scarf. 

Even more than the issue of the hijab or headscarf, women in Iran are statistically well-educated, with over 57 percent of women in higher education as of 2020, and that’s exactly what I witnessed among a throng of lawyers, doctors, professors, scientists, and key members of Iranian society. In fact, female adult literacy rates tripled from 24% in 1976 near the end of the Iranian monarchy to 81% in 2016, while those who finished primary education increased from 36% in 1971 to 99% in 2017. Not only were Iranian women highly educated, but the men were also supportive of their endeavors in addressing the issues they felt most needed attention. The women seemed to run the show, especially focusing on the Western propaganda waged against Iran, and how they are leading the charge in fighting it.

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From what I witnessed, women in Iran enjoy higher stature in the family home compared to their Western counterparts. I joined women from Algeria, Turkey, and Kenya to relay our experience on Press TV, The difference in how women view themselves in Iran versus the West lies in how they view gender roles. In Iran, women are treated in a delicate manner and praised as essential members of society with different roles than men, but the differences are valued rather than opposed.

President Ebrahim Raisi mentioned how ‘the West uses women as a tool’ and is not really in favor of human or women’s rights. He added that ‘The Islamic Republic views women as neither an instrument nor a homemaker. In a sense, there is a third view which observes that women can be society builders alongside men and play an essential role in the family and society.’  He further criticized the West for disregarding the human rights of the Palestinian people for seven decades and for occupying Afghanistan for 20 years, leaving behind only chaos and damage. 

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Whilst, as in the West there were anti-government sentiments, women I met and saw in the streets appeared to wear the headscarf because they wanted to and told me they did not feel oppressed but were trying to fight the propaganda about women in Iran. One university instructor and filmmaker named Sheida told me, ‘Western media deliberately do not mention examples of justice for women in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Of course, they see it, but they pretend not to see it.’ According to her, the Islamic Revolution gave value to women, and Iranian Muslim and non-Muslim women are no longer commodities to be chosen for their bodies, allowing women in scientific and cultural fields, military, sports, and politics to play a great role and have a great impact on the development of the country. Their sexuality has not hindered their abilities like it does in the West.

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