Veiled Voices: Female Subjectivity and Gender Relations in Afghan and Iranian Cinemas
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Veiled Voices: Female Subjectivity and Gender Relations in Afghan and Iranian Cinemas by Elahe Dehnavi A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Comparative Literature University of Alberta © Elahe Dehnavi, 2017 Abstract Films as cultural products are remarkable sources for examining different dimensions of the complex institution of gender in the society in which they are produced. Focusing on a selection of cinematic narratives from post-Revolution Iran and Post-Taliban Afghanistan, this project examines the films’ representations of women in private and public relations as gendered subjects. Following feminist scholars, who highlight the embodiment of gendered subjectivity in cultural and historical contexts, this thesis explores different aspects of gendered experience in cinematic texts and examines how gender and sexuality are subjected to power. It considers both form and content and aims to provide textual and contextual analysis, but its main purpose is to offer a sociological reading of the selected films. Looking at images of girlhood, motherhood, women’s position in marriage and divorce, female love and desire, and women’s political engagement, it aims to understand how, in what ways, and to what extent independent filmmakers challenge social strains, traditional authority, and political forces that form the dominant discourse of gender and gender relations in Iranian and Afghan cultures. Reading the cinematic narratives in the socio-political context of their production, I contend that these independent films should be seen as part of the current discussions around gender politics and activist endeavours against conservative gender norms. In Afghanistan and Iran, where women’s rights movements are considered anti-Islamic and therefore demonized and repressed by the state or powerful religious groups, filmmakers have become civil activists who use social cinema as a tool to promote social change. They have developed a veiled cinematic language that allows them to address women’s status in society, shed light on the cultural and legal roots of gender discrimination, and challenge the patriarchal discourse of gender. This ii thesis outlines the features of this veiled language; it also examines émigré films that complement this cultural dialogue while enjoying the freedom from governmental censorship or domestic pressures from religious groups. iii This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Esmat Dehnavi, whose voice still rings in my ears as she recited poems and sang in the snowy winters of Mashhad. iv Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Dr. Patricia Demers for her intellectual support of my PhD research and thesis and for her dedication, patience, and motivation. I could not have imagined having a better supervisor and mentor. Thanks are also due to my supervisory committee Drs. Nima Naghibi, Albert Braz, Iman Mercal and my external examiner Dr. Nasrin Rahimieh for their insightful comments and questions. I am grateful to my partner and dearest friend Amir Yazdanbod for his unconditional support and challenging conversations. He believed in me and reminded me of my dreams and ambitions, making the process of writing and editing the thesis a much more enjoyable experience for me. Special thanks to my friends Drs. Mahsa Pakravan and Marine Gheno for their compassion and inspiration. I was thousands of kilometers away from family, but Mahsa and Marine became my kin. I also thank Sarah Brandvold for her company during the last months of revisions and edits; her energetic presence made a huge difference. I am thankful to my family, especially my sister Elham, for their faith in me and for their love and support. v Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Filmmaking as Activism .............................................................................................................................. 4 Mapping Feminist Cinema in Iran and Afghanistan .................................................................................. 7 Iranian and Afghan Cinemas: Borders and Beyond ................................................................................. 11 Cinema in Afghanistan and Iran............................................................................................................... 15 Thesis Outline .......................................................................................................................................... 23 Chapter One: Screening Girlhood ................................................................................................................ 26 Children in Iranian and Afghan Cinemas ................................................................................................. 28 Distribution and the Question of Audience ............................................................................................. 31 The Burden of Womanhood on the Shoulders of Afghan Girls ............................................................... 34 Girlhood in the Margins: From Kish to the Outskirts of Tehran .............................................................. 47 Marginality of Girlhood in the Centre: Urban Girls in the Battlefield ..................................................... 57 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 64 Chapter Two: Imaging Women through Marriage, Motherhood, and Divorce .......................................... 67 Motherhood in Context ........................................................................................................................... 68 Defying Communal Values and Striving for Independence ..................................................................... 71 Perils of Motherhood: Mothers in the Eyes of Their Sons ...................................................................... 82 Chapter Three: Representing Female Desire and Sexuality ...................................................................... 106 Divorced/Widowed Mothers in Love .................................................................................................... 107 To Desire or to Be Desired: Women Fighting for Romantic Love .......................................................... 115 Imaging Desire and Sexuality beyond Governmental Regulations ....................................................... 124 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 140 Chapter Four: From Gender to Politics: Imaging Women and Political Activism ...................................... 141 Women, Nation, and Socio-Political Engagement ................................................................................. 142 Women without Men: Death, Freedom, and Political Activism ............................................................ 147 The Hidden Half: Love and Politics ........................................................................................................ 150 Bani-Etemad and Her Tales ................................................................................................................... 156 Time and the Question of Afghan Women’s Political Engagement ...................................................... 161 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 164 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 166 Works Cited................................................................................................................................................ 172 vi Introduction Films embody cultural values and represent or criticize the society in which they are produced. Cinema can reinforce or call into question the cultural, social, and political conditions in which it is produced. This study examines a selection of cinematic narratives from post-Revolution Iran and post-Taliban Afghanistan in which personal history, gender, and politics intersect. Bringing female subjectivity to the forefront, these films address issues of gender, culture, class, religion, place, and nationhood in the context of the protagonists’ everyday challenges in the private and public realms. Taking a feminist approach, this project aims to examine in what ways and to what extent independent filmmakers lay bare and challenge social strains, traditional authority, and political forces that shape the dominant discourse of gender and sexuality and gender relations in these societies. The cultural, religious, and lingual affinities between the two neighbouring countries have led to a series of cultural exchanges in the fields of literature, cinema, and fine arts. In the past couple of decades, Iranian filmmakers’ activities in Afghanistan, the support they have offered to their Afghan counterparts, and their subsequent collaborative projects have created rich connections between the two cinemas. One of the main concerns that Iranian and Afghan independent filmmakers, almost all of whom are concerned with social