Tahereh Mahdavi Nia

Introduction

International Relations Think Tank: There is no doubt that there are organic differences between men and women. But as we discussed in the previous discussions, these differences do not determine the superiority of one role over the other. In the upcoming article, we are going to talk about the participation of women in another functional structure, which is the cultural function. In this way, in addition to the background of accepting the role of women in the creation of such functions, we will also point out the obstacles and bottlenecks that have made this presence less and less. By presenting definitions of culture and cultural development, we will find that women as the second gender are not any obstacles on its way.

However, they are sometimes ignored. Their homemaking role is so valuable that it is known as the key to raising children, although this issue is also known as very sacred, but it cannot show only one aspect of women’s personality, perhaps the research role of women in the field of culture. It proves this claim in Iranian society. In the following, there are obstacles that overshadow this issue. Among these obstacles are false social beliefs, the small price paid to the issue of women’s awareness through their education in the society, and their weak presence in the society’s press, which forms an important pole of a society’s culture, are among other things.

Definition of culture

In 1931, an article titled “Culture” was published for the first time in Encyclopaedia Britannica by Malinowski. (Yousafizadeh, Mohammad Ali/1382) After this article, conversation and discussion about culture became one of the main topics in humanities. Some people considered culture as a subject of anthropology, and some considered it as one of the general subjects of social sciences, and some spoke of the formation of a new field under the title of “cultural science”, finally, new fields under the title of sociology of culture, cultural sociology, cultural history, cultural anthropology, Cultural communication and cultural studies were developed.

A new point of view called cultural approach was formed. (Azad Aramaki, Taghi / 2007) Traffic culture, religious culture, modern culture, election culture are terms that each of them originates from the characteristics that are specific to a field and present it to the society.

Development and cultural function

From the point of view of some, cultural development is the intellectual development of a society. The meaning of cultural development is the transformation that takes place through the irreversibility of cultural elements in a certain society, and as a result, the society exerts effective and strong control over the natural and social environment.

Every culture represents a system of interdependent elements that cannot be studied independently and separately. Malinovsky says about this: “In every culture, every custom, every thing, every thought, there is a vital function that all of them perform a specific task and represent an irreplaceable corner or part of a whole (the same) elements that make up the culture of From a functional point of view, they want to fulfill basic human needs.

opinion

An attitude towards the presence of women in the cultural field of Iran always leads the life necessity of the people of the society to start producing or preparing a phenomenon that is created with the aim of fulfilling a specific need or filling the mentioned vacuum. For example, when the ancient Iranians invented the aqueduct to solve the problem of water shortage, the phenomenon of the aqueduct was considered one of the first human inventions. This phenomenon happened after the agricultural revolution and the invention of kish, that is, when man had reached a stage where he was looking for new solutions to provide his vital needs. (Alamdari, Kazem/1380). So, isn’t there a need to feel the need to create a space for women to participate in cultural development? Of course, it has been created. This issue is related to the time when the woman entered the society as a phenomenon alongside the man and was not the only member of the household. Along with the male gender, he was able to go beyond the nature of the second gender after the revolutions that led to the equality of the sexes and have the right to choose, freedom of speech and pen, to assume management jobs and economic and social participation in the development of societies. But in spite of this, due to the emergence of factors that go back to the history of Iran, the situation of women’s participation in the culturalization of the society is still ongoing. This issue in Iran goes back to the time when it is mentioned in history:

“…. During the time of entertainment, one side of the street was reserved for men and the other side was for women. Even the husband had to go from one side and his children from the other side. If there was a play, women were not allowed to participate. One or two small halls. The cinema was in Tehran, only men had the right to use it. There were few schools for girls and some families sent their daughters to school.” (Ravandi, Morteza/1357).

What women needed was to be considered as a member of society. It was only in this way that they could be active in the cultural field as conscious and awake people. But how could they talk about culture in the corridors of the world where they have to walk only next to their own gender and that too only in some areas and at some times?

So, among the obstacles faced by half of the community members were:

_ Gender inequality

The inadequacy of Iranian culture is that as long as the influence of western culture with other cultures was in a sometimes peaceful and sometimes violent exchange, sometimes it benefited from it and sometimes it was damaged. But it has rarely happened that Iranian culture has something of its own, and at least what you may have admired has been its own.

Iran’s history has many ups and downs, and in this direction, what seems to be the most important obstacle to women’s participation in culture building or cultural functions is the issue of “gender inequality”. It seems that even when the issue of revealing the hijab and the apparent freedom of women was discussed, it was possible for women to use cultural facilities, including participation in artistic gatherings, on the condition of being separated from men.

Women’s access to higher education, employment and earning and increasing their power in the family make the social identity of women in the society clear. Today, under the titles of housewives, wives and mothers, women perform tasks and responsibilities that society, especially men, do not value economically.

Therefore, the emancipation of women and her freedom is deferred to breaking the gender structures and coming out of the isolation of domestic work and active participation in doing work outside the home and things that have been considered the exclusive right or duty of men. In Iran, women’s social issues, including gender discrimination and inequality, and patriarchy have long been one of the most important obstacles to women’s participation in the cultural arena of society.

Of course, in the meantime, women’s own attitude towards their own role and the idea they have of themselves also greatly increases the wave of gender inequality. According to the belief of this attitude, women try to act according to the expectations of men.

Mrs. Najm Iraqi (writer) considers gender discrimination to be the most basic problem of women. He believes that women make up half of the world’s population, but they own one hundredth of the world’s assets. About a quarter of them are beaten by their wives. Many of them do not have the right to vote and half a million of them die every year due to diseases caused by fertility and childbirth (1376). Shirin Ebadi, in his analysis of the problem of gender inequalities, emphasized on the way of thinking and thinking of women and considers cultural work to reform the thinking and thinking of women and men necessary to remove the patriarchal thinking that dominates the minds and actions and the legal system of the country. (1376).

Jhaleh Shaditalab also points to patriarchy in Iranian society and culture, which hinders women’s economic participation and their enjoyment of citizenship rights. In order to solve this problem, he considers revising the laws and removing the culture of discrimination and gender inequality in Iranian society. (1376). (Abdullahi, Muhammad/1387). .

Educational failure

One of the main factors of cultural development is education. The human nature of development requires that, while preparing grounds for all classes to enjoy different benefits, each person should play a role in the path of development. Humans are transformed in the light of education and they find psychological, personal and social strength in the form of culture that they adhere to.

Studies conducted on literacy indicate that education is very effective in the behavior and character of women as mothers. By having educational facilities, they have gained more knowledge about the education method of their children and in this field, they can raise them as one of the 2 important bases of life. According to Mrs. Gertrude Monjela, Secretary General of the Fourth United Nations Conference on Women, even though many advances have been made in relation to literacy in the world, there remains a great historical defect among adult women today, especially rural women, which is the lack of education. It prevents their full participation in society.

In the first general census, 1335 AH, in terms of gender distribution, in contrast to 22.4% of literate men, only 8% of women were literate. The literacy rate of women reached 17.9%, 25.5% and 35.5% respectively in 1345, 1352, 1354. In the higher education sector, in 2016, the number of women with higher education in the whole country was 74,000, and their education was usually in educational fields. This statistic is quantitative, but qualitatively, only the upper and middle classes of the society had turned to education. Educational policies were applied with an emphasis on the revival of ancient Iran, westernization, paying attention to the external manifestations of European and king-oriented civilization, and there was no mention of initiative, creativity, innovation, and scientific development. (Monthly Payam Zan/ No. 157/ April 2014)

Factors such as:

_ Social misconceptions about women’s non-participation in activities

_ Lack of knowledge of Iranian women about their citizenship rights

_ Women’s lack of awareness of the various social and economic fields available for activity

_ The higher illiteracy rate of women than men

_ Low percentage of specialists and holders of high scientific degrees in women compared to men

It shows inadequacies in the education of this class. As long as we don’t believe that an educated woman can be equal to a man in the same educational level and we employ her in the field of education regardless of her gender with her special nuances, how can we involve her in the development of cultural functions?

_ Low presence of women in the press

… from history to today

During Reza Khan’s era, although some magazines were published for women, but the chaotic and suffocating situation of those days made these magazines only reflect the contents that were liked and desired by the regime. It was practically not possible to reflect the sufferings, real rights and examine the social situation of Iranian women. With the fall of Reza Khan, although a favorable situation for the press was created, this situation did not last long. After the coup on August 28, 1332 AH. The number of publications was reduced. The women’s press was reduced to 6 titles, which was even less than the periodicals of the Qajar period. During the years 1342 to 1357, although the regime tried to expand the press, the publications that included content outside of the framework imposed by the regime were not tolerated, and journalists were faced with intimidation, threats, imprisonment and the banning of writing. Even the neutral press was under pressure. عملا انعکاس رنج ها، حقوق واقعی و بررسی اوضاع اجتماعی بانوان ایران امکان پذیر نبود. با سقوط رضاخان اگر چه اوضاع مساعدی برای مطبوعات به وجود آمد، اما این وضع چندان طولانی نبود. پس از کودتای 28 مرداد 1332 ه. ش از تعداد نشریات کاسته شد مطبوعات مختص زنان به 6 عنوان کاهش یافت که حتی از نشریات دوران قاجار کمتر بود . طی سال های 1342 تا 1357 اگر چه کوشش رژیم بر آن بود مطبوعات گسترش یابد اما نشریاتی که خارج از چارچوب های تحمیلی رژیم مطالبی درج می کردند، تحمل نمی شدند و با ارعاب، تهدید، حبس و ممنوع القلم شدن روزنامه نگاران رو به رو می شدند حتی مطبوعات بی طرف تحت فشار بودند.

In this situation, no publication that is special for women and supports religious values and indigenous identity was published, but on the other hand, a significant number of publications for women were published, which in no way were in line with national norms and customs. Religious did not conform. This type of press was in the service of the rulers of the time and emphasized on nudity, veiling, fashion and engaging women in useless, superficial and consumerist affairs, for this reason, women not only had an opportunity to appear in the press and express their thoughts and ideas. They didn’t get it, but the regime constantly used them for vulgar advertisements and distorting the authentic identity of women. (Monthly Payam Zan/ No. 157/ April 2014)

In today’s era, due to the limited number of written media and the insufficient number of this number for half of the population, it is thought that this issue is still not taken seriously. Perhaps the existence of a suitable number of magazines and newspapers that can inform women’s minds about the society and what is happening in it will be a way forward in the path of development. But this importance sometimes even leads to the closure of some magazines for women. Now, if we are looking for a solution to the problem, we should first look for an orange seller who, despite the small number of oranges he has for sale, is expected to make a daily profit!

On the other hand, in order not to have a one-sided judgment, the women who have written and seem active in this field devote only their art of writing to women’s writing. As a result, they lose the little opportunity and limited position they have.

_ Lack of participation of women in cultural organizations

Although we believe that no society can achieve its development goals unless it involves women who make up half of the population of any country, but statistics show that only 20% of women with civil institutions including It is cultural achievements, such as associations, organizations, cultural, social, political, economic and environmental organizations that are independent and not dependent on the government, and the proportion of time they are members of these institutions does not exceed 12% of all Iranian women. (Abdullahi, Mohammad/1387)

This is the result of an interconnected set of historical, geographical, economic, political, social, cultural, ethnic, family, situational, role, personality, etc. conditions and factors at the micro and macro level of society.

Macro level view

In this view, women’s participation is a kind of social reality that must be explained with other social realities. According to Durkheim’s point of view, with the increase of material and spiritual density, i.e. population density and intensifying communication, the traditional division of labor based on age and gender assigned criteria gives way to social division of labor based on criteria such as expertise and experience. At this time, organic solidarity gives way to mechanical solidarity based on collective conscience.

A micro level view

Organism-oriented views that pay attention to the visible human behavior and in its analysis emphasize biological-psychological factors such as feelings, motivation and internal human desires.

Second, the viewpoints that consider human social action as a meaningful movement and in its analysis pay attention to mental-symbolic factors, including human beliefs, values, and tendencies.

Despite the views that were raised in the field of micro and macro, it can be concluded that societies in the transition from underdevelopment to development are forced to count women not from an organic point of view but from a mechanical point of view. What if we continue to consider them as the weaker sex and only look at their special feelings, biological and psychological conditions and other characteristics that we think will prevent them from participating in various affairs, then they are still in the path of development. We are hesitant. This development is a balanced development that considers only one stratum of the society as an influential stratum. And how can one go through the stages of development in a balanced and homogeneous way by relying on the role of half of the society’s members of the same gender?

Achievements from a research on the topic of “measurement of women’s cultural participation” (ibid., 80-90)

Women in the situational and role dimension

In a research conducted among the ethnic groups of the country, relying on the statistics of more than half of the investigated women who are located in the capital of Tehran, Hamedan and Sistan and Baluchistan provinces, results have been obtained that are worth mentioning in this article:

– The rate of women’s benefit from the media and new communication technologies is low. Most of them are informed about the news and events of Iran and the world through television. It can be said that the managers of radio broadcast more than 50% of the news they choose to women. Women living in semi-peripheral or peripheral provinces receive a higher percentage of news through television. The closer we get to the central provinces, the sources of obtaining various news and the percentage of obtaining news from television decreases. More than 70% of women do not have a personal computer at home and about 80% of them do not use the Internet. These ratios differ according to the type and location of the province where women live. In Tehran, more than 40% of women have a computer at home, and more than 96% of women do not use the Internet. The daily troubles of the women’s lives have deprived them of their weekly free time and allocating it to their personal affairs and favorite activities.

Characteristics of women in the emotional dimension

The level of feeling of knowledge means the feeling of flourishing of talents and intellectual growth and having up-to-date information among Iranian women is low. The proportion of women who have a high sense of knowledge is 18% in Tehran, 13% in Hamadan and 4.5% in Sistan and Baluchistan. Although the level of feeling of knowledge among women is related to the level of development of the provinces, the level of this feeling among more than 80% of women is low. This shows the fact that women also feel that they are not enjoying the facilities and cultural capital of the country as they should. This feeling is not separate from the position and role of women in society.

Result

Although in recent years, the number of women who have entered the universities of our country is more than men, and culture building in the field of women’s education is being institutionalized, but on the other hand, the burden of responsibility that falls on the shoulders of Iranian women at different stages of life. Maybe it is one of the factors that it seems that their influence in the structure of cultural functions is not considered so seriously. Because the environmental bottlenecks as mentioned have a historical root in our land of Iran. For a long time, the attitude towards the presence of women in the country’s press has prevented them from appearing in the social and cultural scene. The ups and downs that have been in women’s way to improve their roles and social bases have also prevented them from providing a cultural role in the community. Certainly, the gender discrimination that has been imposed on women in various fields of economy, society and culture in the society has forced them to fight more in the field of culture and not to be an effective presence. Incorrect thoughts that have sometimes become cultural beliefs of the society will make it more difficult for women to participate in the cultural field. On the one hand, they are struggling with these beliefs, and on the other hand, with their higher education, they are not ready to stop trying and continue to fulfill their duties as mothers, wives, and housekeepers.

It goes without saying that women also sometimes suffer from lack of self-confidence and are subject to gender biases in their social participation and sometimes go astray in competition with their own sex. And this issue causes them to grow in a society that lacks exchange of opinions and seeking participation in order to receive knowledge of the opinions of their same sex or active and opinionated men in the society. In other words, feeling overcomes other characteristics of a conscious human being in the form of a woman, and this is the way.

References:

_ Azad Aramaki, Taghi / Cultural Sociology/ 2017/ Nashralam

Rawandi, Morteza/ Social History of Iran/ Volume 3/1357/ Sepehr Publications

_ Alamdari, Kazem/ Why Iran lags behind and the West advances / 2009/ Tehsehe publication

Abdullahi, Mohammad/Women in the public arena/1387/Sociologists publishing

_ Yousefizadeh, Mohammad Ali/History of thoughts and opinions of anthropology and anthropology/1382/Yastron Publishing