The People in My Neighborhood

Iran is deeply misunderstood in the western world as a culture and society - particularly when it comes to the spaces women occupy at home and in public.

The general notions about women and the roles they play are widely built on rumors and a grand misconception that women in Middle Eastern countries are treated as less than their male counterparts.
Not forgetting that the Middle East is NOT one big country but is made up of many...let me clarify a few in respect to Iran, based on what I've learned since my arrival to Tehran.

Women own businesses (believe it!), property, have individual passports and identity cards, vote, drive, hold political offices (including Parliament), and maintain the same major roles as men....I mean, really - it seems a bit archaic to even mention some of these things...but people I've talked with in the west are genuinely surprised by the idea of an Iranian woman as an entity sovereign.

One thing in particular that was so interesting to learn is that Iran has plenty of women fire-fighters.
My own father was a Battalion Chief in the Seattle Fire Department at the end of his long career as a paramedic and fireman and I know the struggles women go through to join and maintain ranks in United States fire stations - yet women here are unanimously regarded as heroes and touted by the other firefighters as incredibly brave.

Check out this Persian web page, with more photos of women firefighters on the job in Iran.

(photo credit: MEHR)