In this conversation on her book, ‘The Politics of Women’s Rights in Iran’ , Dr. Arzoo Osanloo delves into the politicization of 'rights talk' and women’s subjectivities in post-revolutionary Iran. She talks about how following the 1979 revolution, Iran underwent a transformation into an Islamic republic, during which the country's leaders employed a renewed discourse on women's rights to signify a departure from Western liberalism's perceived excesses. Dr. Osanloo's research reveals that the post-revolutionary republic combined elements of a liberal republic with principles of equality derived from Islam. Through ethnographic study, she illustrates how women's assertions of rights arise from a blend of ideas that draw from both liberal individualism and Islamic ideals. In this episode, she walks us through various settings where rights are being shaped, such as Qur'anic reading groups, Tehran's family court, and law offices. In these contexts, she highlights the fluid and constructed nature of women's understandings of their rights. By doing so, Dr. Osanloo dismantles oversimplified dichotomies between so-called liberal, universal rights and the perceived insularity of local culture. She sheds light on a contemporary non-Western perspective on the essence of liberal rights and prompts questions about the often misunderstood relationship between modernity and Islam.

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Produced By Ergo Studios Hosted By Saniya Ahmad Production and edited By Abhay

The episode was originally published on 26/07/2023