Reading The Pictures: Did Mullahs Freak Over "The Michelle Factor"

Maybe what caused Khamenei and the clerics to derail the Iranian election, as much as anything, was their disaffection with Mousavi's intense and outspoken confidant and wife.

Ahmadinejad signaled as much when, in a startling move, he went out of his way to attack her directly in the last presidential debate (and she responded by threatening to sue). Although she rejects outright comparison, Zahra Rahnavard (sporting what is sometimes referred to by conservatives as the "bad hajib" for its floral pattern) is openly admiring of Michele Obama, describes she and Mousavi as equal partners in most things, and has already modeled herself, through her active involvement the the campaign, in the historic role of Iran's first "first lady."

Considering that Ahmadinejad's wife has hardly been seen in public, and the photos that do exist offer her set back and almost completely obscured by the hajib, images like the one above must be profoundly difficult for fundamentalists to swallow, casting Zahra -- in the name of her husband -- as a feminist reformer and an iconic figure in her own right.

This second image is very typical, showing Zahra side-by-side with Mousavi (in a characteristic two-handed gesture), very engaged with the crowd and almost always more intense.

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(image: Atta Kenare/A.P. Tehran. May 30, 2009)

Comments

[day dree]

This "Michelle" speculation is missing Iranian cultural context: There are more women in government and with college degrees in Iran than in the US! I suspect there are more women professors as well. In 30 years of voting, they've managed to get a relatively equal number of men and women representatives, which failed to do. The stereotypical picture you paint is a disservice to Iranian women AND men; women are not silent in the street or in their homes. The marches this week -- if nothing else -- should show that Ahmadinejad and his approach don't represent the facts of the country.
FWIW, I am an American woman tech company CEO who visited Iran in April with my Iranian husband. What I found was a fascinating, complex country that defies our stereotypes in virtually every way.
You'll find excellent and often inspiring films that do provide cultural context and richness:
http://www.linktv.org/bridgetoiran. Check out the film "Zinat".

[Khazen]

I am no fan of Ahmadinejad. I have called him a vacuous drum, and a pro-Iranian Lebanese politician took issue with me. Still, the man won. Iran is not Tehran. The Iranian people support the populist president. The opposition of intellectuals and liberals, modern women and disgruntled politicians is made to look much more important than it really is. Worse, false information is being fed by dissidents writing abroad. Huffington Post has opened its gates for them. They tailor Iranian politics to suit their preferences or prejudices. Wake up

[deebles]

I told my friend a week ago that her makeup would ensure a re-election. I wonder why she did it? It's not like she were living in the Iran of fifty years ago where you could bandy about with free-flowing locks and a short skirt.

[lovethesinner]

I think you're on to something here, Michael. In the end, all conservative ideologies are ANTI-WOMEN. They all want to go back to a male dominance. I think one could argue that between RACISM and SEXISM, it's hard to pick which is older and more profoundly influential.

[terramartom]

Turn thought into action, and you get change.
It's about time!

[Aboomer]

You mean hijab, not hajib. Hijab is the headscarf worn by Muslim women. A hajib was a government official in Al-Andalus.

[Mercedes1981]

I love your work. And how you pick up on the smallest thing. The whole two hands lifted truly highlights her intensely.

[GreatNews27]

The election was decided months ago. The protesters are already dead. They just don't know it yet.

[BluestateGuyInTX]

I'm old enough to remember them saying the same thing about protesters against the Shah. And the Shah had Savak--a far more ruthless and efficient secret police. Savak's long arm reached even into the US, India, and GB where there were lots of Iranians studying. They said Savak just couldn't be defeated, next thing you know, Nasiri, the head of Savak was lying in a morgue in Tehran. The current power structure knows exactly how they come to power and that scares them. Two things that should have scared the living daylights out of Khamenei have come to light: (1) the crowds are chanting Allaho akbar (god is great) in an eerie harking back to the growing protests against the Shah in 79 and (2) the crowds are fairly successfully establishing a rapport with the police. The most important thing any dictator has to know is which way the guns will point when he gives the order to fire on the crowds. The Shah found that out to his chagrin.

[deebles]

Well, way to go Bluestate: the most concise, intelligent comment that I've had the pleasure to read in a long time. Is it just because we are older or are we smarter? Who cares? Truth is in the facts and when you remember the facts you don't have that odd problem of thinking that facts aren't facts.

[Xylem44]

VERY WELL STATED.

[greymom]

Well said. I was listening to a commentator last night that said that the "mourning" gatherings that we are seeing today are the exact types of protests that did in the Shah and that the opposing party were very active in the original revolution so know how to achieve the goals within their culture.

[Ozarks]

Well if 500,000 people, see pictures, end up d.ead, at least all Iranians will become acutely aware that they do not live in a "republic" and purported democratic elections are a religious window dressing. The Iranians handled the Shah and the Savak secret police , I think they will in turn handle the mullahs and its private army too.

[cobobs]

They will kill a million Iranians? I think the place would implode, and guns will turn against those who give the orders. I think the model for a positive functional relationship between Islam and modernity is developing right before our eyes.