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A Critical Analysis of the Role of Law and Feminist Legal Approaches in Women’S Life Advancement: a Case Study of the One Million Signatures Campaign

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A Critical Analysis of the Role of Law and Feminist Legal Approaches in Women’S Life Advancement: a Case Study of the One Million Signatures Campaign A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE OF LAW AND FEMINIST LEGAL APPROACHES IN WOMEN’S LIFE ADVANCEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF THE ONE MILLION SIGNATURES CAMPAIGN by Shiva Olyaei LL.M., The University of British Columbia, 2007 M.A., International Law, Allameh Tabatabaei University, 2004 B.A., Law, Islamic Azad University, 1999 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Law) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) May 2018 © Shiva Olyaei, 2018 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: a critical analysis of the role of law and feminist legal approaches in women’s life advancement: a case study of the one million signatures campaign submitted Shiva Olyaei in partial fulfillment of the requirements by for the degree Doctor of Philosophy In Law Examining Committee: Susan B. Boyd, Law Supervisor Margot Young, Law Supervisory Committee Member Sunera Thobani, IGRSSJ Supervisory Committee Member Debra Parkes (Law) University Examiner Professor Leonora Angeles (SCARP & IGRSSJ) Leonora Angeles, SCARP & IGRSSJ University Examiner ii Abstract Iranian women carry the legacy of five generations of women’s activism over the last 150 years. Through a feminist legal lens, this dissertation surveys this rich history, especially the One Million Signatures Campaign (OMSC). The dissertation raises two major questions. (1) Whether there has been too much emphasis on law and legal reform as means to achieve gender justice in Iranian feminist movements at the expense of other approaches. (2) Whether using certain aspects of liberal and radical feminism as methodologies turned the OMSC into the reflecting surface of the western feminist centre, thus failing to contextualize their work within their sociopolitical and cultural region. This dissertation sheds light on the theoretical and methodological possibilities of drawing more on postmodernist and Third world feminist approaches. Through historical, textual and discourse analysis, this dissertation explores legal centralist liberal feminism and radical feminism as influential western tropes in contemporary Iranian feminism. Deconstructive postmodern and TW feminism, which tackle universalist and orientalist tendencies in feminist scholarship, are suggested as pertinent approaches for Iranian feminism. Honouring the legacy of and historicizing five generations of Iranian women’s activism, this dissertation complicates earlier categorizations by highlighting class, ideology and religion. OMSC is critically analysed, including its emergence and demise, its strategic legal demands suggesting a paradigm shift from traditional readings of Shari’a law to secular CEDAW norms, and its discursive engagement with western feminism. By referring to data on the status of Iranian women, this research shows that formal legal indicators fail to capture Iranian feminist praxis in the so-called ‘repressed post-revolutionary era’. It is argued that law cannot be portrayed as the sole factor responsible for stagnation or advancement in women’s lives, as it glosses over how women defy, negotiate, and even bypass discriminatory laws and ideologies. Moreover, it is crucial that future Iranian feminist activism shift its theoretical groundings from hegemonic western feminist legal theory to postmodern and TW feminism. The latter approaches not only de-center law wherever possible, but discursively engage with it. They also challenge totalizing feminist knowledge that homogenizes and universalizes feminist struggles under western feminist standards. iii Lay Summary Iranian women carry the legacy of five generations of women’s activism over the past 150 years. This dissertation critically assesses women’s life advancement strategies that invest in law reform as a primary panacea for women’s well-being. The case study is the One Million Signatures Campaign in Iran. Using a feminist legal lens, this project asks whether there has been an over- emphasis on law and legal reform as means to realize gender justice at the expense of other approaches; and whether using certain aspects of liberal and radical feminism as methodologies turned the Iranian campaign into a misinformed feminist praxis that reflects the western feminist centre. I argue that such a strategy may result in failing to contextualize feminist strategic plans within particular sociopolitical and cultural regions. I suggest that drawing more on postmodernist feminist and Third world feminist approaches is vitally important for the future of Iranian feminist activism. iv Preface This dissertation is the original and independent intellectual product of the author, Shiva Olyaei and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a PhD degree awarded by the University of British Columbia. Preliminary drafts of limited portions of this dissertation have appeared in the following publications. Olyaei, Shiva, “Telling Muslim Feminists’ Story: From Intra-religious Discursive Scholarship toward Extra-religious Transnational Dialogue” (August 2013) 10:4 US- China Law Review, 383. Olyaei, Shiva, “Toward Critical and Discursive Engagement with the Muslim Faith: Exploring Muslim feminists’ role in challenging the construction of religious legal knowledge” (April 2010) 17:1 Views From The Edge, Center for Women and Gender Studies, The University of British Columbia, 20. v Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iii Lay Summary ............................................................................................................................... iv Preface .............................................................................................................................................v Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... vi List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. xii Glossary ...................................................................................................................................... xiv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................xv Dedication ................................................................................................................................. xviii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................1 1.1 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................ 2 1.1.1 First Argument ............................................................................................................ 4 1.1.2 Second Argument........................................................................................................ 5 1.2 Contextual Background: Iranian Women ....................................................................... 7 1.2.1 Who Tells the Story of Iranian women? ................................................................... 12 1.2.2 The Post-Revolutionary Era: A Turning Point for or against Iranian Women ......... 14 1.2.2.1 Educational Attainments ................................................................................... 20 1.2.2.2 Health and Survival Data .................................................................................. 20 1.2.2.3 Economic Participation and Opportunities ....................................................... 21 1.2.2.4 Political and Judicial Empowerment ................................................................ 22 1.2.2.5 Cultural and Artistic Impacts ............................................................................ 25 1.2.3 Iranian Women’s One Million Signatures Campaign ............................................... 26 1.2.4 CEDAW in the Mirror of the Iranian Legal Structure .............................................. 28 vi 1.2.5 Islamic Feminism ...................................................................................................... 32 1.3 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 34 1.4 The Research Road Map ............................................................................................... 36 1.4.1 Chapter Two on Law: Feminist Critique and Methods ............................................ 36 1.4.2 Chapter Three on The First Three Generations of Iranian Women’s Activism: Class, Ideology, and Religion (Phase I) .......................................................................................... 37 1.4.3 Chapter Four on The Fourth and Fifth Generations of Iranian Women’s Activism: Class, Ideology, and Religion (Phase II) .............................................................................. 38 1.4.4 Chapter Five on One Million Signatures Campaign (OMSC) .................................. 38 1.4.5 Chapter Six on OMSC’s Theoretical Analysis ......................................................... 39 1.5 Logistical Challenges ...................................................................................................
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