On Wednesday, Dr. Elaheh Koolaee, a professor at Tehran University in Iran, spoke to students, academics and Iranian-Americans about women reformers and democracy in Iran. Koolaee, a former member of the Sixth Islamic Parliament from 2000 to 2004, talked in favor of women's rights and democratization in Iran.
Professor Fera Simone introduced Koolaee as a "voice of change and reform in the Islamic Republic of Iran," but also noted that questions be limited to gender and society.
Koolaee is one of the "most progressive voices on women's rights in the Iranian parliament" and was "instrumental in passing several provisions on behalf of women and reform of family law," according to a press release. In her speech, she talked about changing the marriage age to 13 for females from 9 years old and to 15 for males from 13 years old.
She occasionally praised Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the deceased founder and leader of the 1979 Revolution, but acknowledged that, "There is a considerable gap between the Islamic Revolution's ideals and daily life." In particular, she pointed to a "patriarchal" and "traditional society" that are at odds with Khomeini's ideals. Since the 1979 Revolution, Iran's government has essentially been theocracy with some characteristics of democracy, such as voting.
She also talked about the complexity of the modern Iranian identity, particularly the duality between its 2,500 years of Persian history and its more recent Islamic identity.
Ehsan Khah, a recent graduate of the University of Virginia, said that he was pleased with her speech. Khah said Koolaee "believes in fundamental change" and that she wants to reconcile "the balance between Iranian and Islamic identity."
Khah, who left Iran in 1984, said he "would have asked [Koolaee] if the reformists have given up and what their plans are," but he didn't have time.
The event, which was sponsored by the Center for Global Peace and The Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, lasted from 6 to 8 p.m. in the SIS Lounge.
