Life in IRAN Before and After The Islamic Revolution 5 Differences in 15 Minutes

once little piece of the West inside the Middle East Iran has suffered some of the most significant changes for country in recent history this is Iran before and after the Islamic revolution culture before the Islamic revolution Iran was very different world the country underwent an aggressive modernization program called the white Revolution which led to Rapid westernization in this period citizens could enjoy some degree of cultural Freedom mainly because of Western influence women and men mixed freely there was Cosmopolitan lifestyle in the main cities world was in awe of Iran's rapid development however not everyone was satisfied with the white Revolution it was imposed any group that disagreed with the Shah which means king in Persian could be oppressed tortured and even killed by the Savox secret police general unhappiness was growing with the regime's luxuries corruption and Jet Set lifestyle there were also Rising concerns about Western powers influence on Iran's government mainly the U.S and the UK all this led to social anti-government demonstrations that when met with brutal repression quickly escalated into the Islamic revolution right after the Revolution and successfully overthrowing the monarchy the country adopted an anti-western mindset for the past 40 years Hardline political and religious conservatives have grown paranoid of Western influence and as result have cracked down on people they perceive to be enemies of the state the Sharia is the law that dictates the code of conduct under conservative Islamic ideology even the moral police patrol the streets enforcing Islamic codes of dress and behavior in many ways freedom of expression has hardly improved in fact the overall feeling is that class character in Iranian Society has remained unchanged with one ruling class replaced by another nowadays instead of the Shah's ruling class the sons of the revolution's leaders and the business class that works within the regime's rules flaunt their wealth by driving luxury sports cars around Tehran and posting on social media about their Jet Set lifestyle in contrast the poor and the middle class still struggle to survive nevertheless younger Generations constantly aim for more freedom mainly thanks to the internet and many experts including less conservative clerics expect drastic social changes in the next 10 years for Education before the Revolution when the Shah was in power schools in Iran began to modernize their ways of teaching moving away from the religious Focus the government chose secular education in which students would learn skills applicable to jobs and Science teaching and management despite the Shah's efforts to offer mandatory westernized education many families would not send their children to these modern public schools which were inspired by the French system this new education system was mix between modernization and nationalism as it glorified elements from the pre-islamic Persian culture during this era many Institutes of higher education were established while the Shah encouraged women to attend higher education there was division among intellectuals and they ultimately decided that they would let women attend only to learn all things related to the household according to the World Bank and the statistical Center of Iran in the late 1970s before the Revolution there was 36.5 percent literacy rate with 23.4 percent gender gap more than 60 percent of women were illiterate and the female enrollment rate in tertiary education was only four percent since the Islamic revolution the government brought religion back to all schools removing the secular aspect that the Shah imposed and it was immediately involved in three major efforts urging courses and textbooks believed to slander Islam removing teachers to ensure that only those who were not secular remained at the schools regulating the behavior and dress of students this resulted in boys and girls being separated in different institutions girls being forced to wear hijabs and most of the westernized education being scrapped out of the curriculum attendance in schools grew considerably and the government redirected the Shah's previous efforts to educate rural areas now under completely different ideology as result in the past 40 years education and literacy rates have improved dramatically by 2016. there was an 86 percent literacy rate gender gap was reduced to nine percent less than 15 percent of women were illiterate and the female enrollment rate in tertiary education was over 66 percent nowadays more than 60 percent of University students are female and the urban rural Gap in literacy went from 35 percent before the Revolution to only 12 percent even though the Improvement for women has been more significant than for men women's education is far from being an easy Road the policies toward the education of women have experienced many changes since the Islamic revolution for example right after it happened in the subsequent Islamic cultural revolution which consisted of the complete opposite of the white Revolution women were barred from most study fields and were only allowed to study 91 out of 169 available Majors still after Iran's war with Iraq in the late 1980s educated women were needed to rebuild the country and all restrictions were lifted and finally since 2005 women's access to academic majors has been limited once again and the government basically allows each University to impose its own restrictions based on gender this topic inevitably leads us to the most controversial aspect of the Islamic revolution women's rights historically in Iran women's rights have been severely restricted compared to those in most developed Nations they change according to the form of government ruling the country and mandates for women's rights have affected broad range of issues from dress codes to voting rights for many centuries women were isolated they weren't engaged in politics and their economic contribution was limited to household work those who worked in textiles during this period earned an average of one-third of what men did and it was still possible for Rural girls to be sold by the heads of their families these conditions changed during the palavi dynasty that ruled the country from 1925 till the Islamic revolution in 1979 the Shah introduced many reforms concerning women's rights in this period one example of an early reform the Kashif or the forced unveiling of women introduced in 1936 as the name suggests it involved the Police pulling the hijab away even from religious women what's more inspired by the westernization that was taking place in turkey at that time the Shah increased women's participation in the economy and society as literacy levels improved women began to acquire high official positions such as ministers and judges While others emerged as artists scientists and athletes in 1963 the Shah granted women voting rights in 1967 the Iranian family law was reformed improving the position of women in Iranian Society it allowed wife to initiate divorce and required the first wife's permission for husband to take second wife it also raised the minimum age at which female could marry from 13 to 15 in 1967 and 18 in 1975. all these efforts were established through the Shah's wishes for Iran to become more modern european-style country however after the Islamic revolution these freedoms were retracted even when women were crucial to its success since 1979 women's rights have been restricted through several laws such as the introduction of mandatory hijab and public dress code by 2022 only 5.59 percent of members of the parliament are women today they're allowed to drive hold public office attend University and to vote but when in public all hair and skin except the face and hands must be covered and not wearing hijab in public can be punished by law according to the Sharia law women inherit half of what man would and compensation for the death of woman is half as well also most areas of the country are segregated by sex meaning that males are prohibited of viewing females and age of consent laws do not exist as all sexual activity outside marriage is illegal women are also banned from dancing with anyone different from their family and even to sing in public most of the rights provided under the white Revolution have been taken away including the family protect laws Banning contraception and lowering the minimum marriage age to 13 and even 9 in some cases Iran ranks 125 out of 170 countries in the women peace and security index in 2020 it held the world record in domestic violence against women and in 2019 state-run newspaper revealed that an average 375 to 450 honor killings are recorded in Iran each year situation is tense mainly because the Islamic system being widely patriarchal has proven unable to protect women in September 2022 new wave of women-led anti-government protests erupted in the country after the killing of Masa amini who was beaten up by the police for not wearing her hijab correctly and died three days later because of her injuries by the time of making this video many experts suggest that this may Mark the birth of new and long-awaited revolution economy the economy was one of the main factors that ignited the Islamic revolution unequal distribution of oil wealth in the 1970s harmed the Iranian middle class and Rural poor while benefiting the elite in addition the white Revolution mainly focused on the cities worsening the gap between rural and urban areas in the 1970s the poverty rate was around 25 percent and Iran's nominal GDP in 1979 was around 90.32 billion dollars in this decade over 90 percent of Iran's GDP depended on oil and gas and given that Iran's top trading partners were Japan the United States Germany France and the UK Iran's currency was strong as an example in March 1978 one U.S dollar was equal to 71.46 Rials on the other hand After the Revolution Iran has indeed experienced progress the shift from Shah's pro-urban elite-centered policies to pro-roll populist approach included expanding infrastructure and essential services such as electricity and clean water to the countryside as result the poverty rate dropped less than 10 percent in 2014 and by 2021 Iran's nominal GDP was over 231 billion dollars Iran's economy has become more Diversified as well according to the central bank in 2022 the country's GDP is composed of 50 Services 32 percent of industry and Mining 13 of Agriculture and only five percent of oil however despite its small size oil remains critical source of Foreign Exchange and government revenue the anti-western mindset can be evidenced in the impact on Iran's top commercial allies in 2019 its top trading partners were China the United Arab Emirates India turkey and Brazil even though the economy has managed to grow Iran's currency has plummeted since the revolution in June 2022 for example one US dollar was equal to 42 456 Iranian reals of course we can't ignore the U.S sanctions however according to tehran's alame tabatabai University economists only 15 percent of Iran's economic problems can be attributed to them experts suggest that state domination of the commanding areas of the economy such as the oil and gas sectors large Industries and the banking system discourages private Investments affecting the country's performance even though the gap between urban and rural areas has closed significantly there's strong public perception of high-income inequality that along with the country's incapacity to absorb the hundreds of thousands of University graduates has produced middle-class poor social class moreover according to the 2016 census for men and women between 25 and 29. unemployment rates are at 34.6 percent and 45.7 percent respected high unemployment rates for educated youth suggest deeper problems with the Islamic Republic's economic growth model politics from political point of view Iran can be considered one of the most bizarre countries in the world today the Islamic Republic's political system is thought of as religious tyranny or malacy Iran was an absolute monarchy with centuries-long history before 1906. then from 1906 to 1979 it became constitutional monarchy with parliamentary system under the 1906 Persian Constitution the first in Iran's history the Shah was the head of the state while the Prime Minister was the head of the government in 1953 amid power struggle between Muhammad Reza Shah and prime minister Muhammad musadek the CIA and MI6 orchestrated coup against mosadev's government reinstating the Shah who ruled tightly with the support of the U.S and the UK after the Islamic revolution the people of Iran adopted new Constitution that established the Islamic Republic of Iran and officially ended the monarchy in this new political system Iran adopted parliament and modern political institutions like the presidency and constitution just like any other Democratic Republic still on the other hand it also established supreme leader an omnipotent figure who controls everything in the country the economy the Armed Forces environment foreign policy education National planning intelligence defense and even the multi-billion dollar government account the supreme leader is appointed by the Assembly of experts which consists of 80 to 90 members elected by popular vote who review the Supreme Leader's performance to decide whether to extend or cancel his term though the funny thing is it has been deemed illegal to supervise the activities of the supreme leader then comes the guardian Council composed of 12 members six experts on islamist theology chosen by the Supreme Leader and six experts on constitutional law who must approve the laws consented by the parliament monitor elections and review candidates for elected offices including the president unlike other countries the president isn't the leading power figure in fact even if he wins the elections he still needs to gain the Supreme Leader's approval before being sworn in this political system may explain why Iran scored lower than Saudi Arabia in the 2021 democracy index that's everything for today we'll see you in the next video and don't forget to stay curious