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Foucault's discourse on pinnacles and pitfalls. The paradoxical world of Foucault : the modern and the traditional social orders -- Processions, passion plays, and rites of penance : Foucault, Shiʻism, and early Christian Rituals -- Foucault's writings on the Iranian Revolution and after. The visits to Iran and the controversies with "Atoussa H." and Maxime Rodinson -- Debating the outcome of the revolution, especially on women's rights -- Foucault, gender, and male homosexualities in Mediterranean and Muslim Societies -- Epilogue : from the Iranian Revolution to September 11, 2001 -- Appendix : Foucault and his critics, an annotated translation

This article examines the gender and sexual policies of the Islamic Republic and their ramifications. It argues that the policies of the Islamist government cannot easily be categorized as "puritanical" or "moralistic." Rather we can argue that various factions within the state actively deployed a new "sexual economy" for the population. Sometimes, the Islamist state privileged patriarchal interpretations of gender norms over more modern ones. At other times, it adopted modern projects such as family planning alongside a discourse that presented them as practices rooted in traditional Islam. In all cases, the state used modern institutions to disseminate and enforce these practices.

This article first explores the state of human rights of Middle
Eastern/Muslim Women in a selection of North African, Central Asian,
and Middle Eastern countries. It then contrasts this present state of
oppression with the emerging legal reforms and attempts made by a new
generation of women's rights activists. These activists are building new
institutions in their homelands despite numerous obstacles and great
personal and political risk, creating the need for a new dialogue and
approach to human rights in the Middle East.

Die Autorin wendet Erich Fromms Erkenntnisse über die autoritäre Persönlichkeit an, um den Lebensweg zweier islamistischer Iranerinnen zu analysieren, die bereits vor der Revolution von 1979 führende Rollen spielten. Ihre Hinwendung zu Ayatollah Khomeini sei dem doppelten Wunsch entsprungen, der "Tradition" und der "Freiheit" zu entkommen. Während Dr. phil. Rahnavard (seit 1999 Präsidentin der Frauenuniversität) und M. Dabbagh (langjährige Parlamentsabgeordnete und Funktionärin der staatlichen Frauenverbände) für die traditionellen Geschlechterrollen eintraten, unterwarfen sie sich diesen persönlich jedoch nicht. Dies habe ihnen Privilegien eingebracht, die die traditionelle Gesellschaft ihnen vorenthielt. (DÜI-Cls)