One striking feature of the anti-Shah demonstrations has been the presence of masses of Iranian women. In Tehran they marched by the thousands, encased from head to foot in black, shapeless chadors, while their men formed a protective chain on either side of the street. The women chanted pro-Khomeini slogans, but they also carried banners calling for the establishment of women's political, social and economic rights in any new Islamic regime.
That demand reflected a dilemma for Iran's 14,589,000 women. Under the Shah's rule they have become the most emancipated women in the Middle East, except for those in Israel and...
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