Contrary to western media’s narratives about women rights in Iran, women participation in almost all walks of life from airport services to sales and from army commandos to tourist guides is picking up.
But this presence is more felt in the field of media.
"The number of female journalists have increased during the last five years by almost 200 percent," Samaneh Nazerian, who heads the international department of Mehr News agency, one the largest wire services in Iran, told IslamOnline.net in English.
A recent visit IOL correspondent to Tehran Times, Kehan International, Mehr and other media outlets showed women journalists, mostly young girls, were outnumbered their male colleagues in the newsrooms, city desks, monitoring sections, libraries and other sections.
"This is certainly a new phenomenon," notes Nazerian, 31, who has a master degree in international relations department from Tehran University.
Dressed in a traditional gown and covering her head with a hijab, she runs a shift of 20 journalists, including 14 women.
"I remember that there were a few women working in this newsroom when I joined this profession eight years ago. But now you can see, we are more than men here," said Nazerian.
"Keeping a fast increase in women numbers in media, I believe men will have to find out a new place for them," she joked.
Well-accomplished
Nazerian, a mother of a 6-year-old daughter, says girls outnumber male colleagues in international relations department and foreign languages departments all major universities.
She notes that many girls have in recent years become more inclined towards learning foreign languages, which gives them more advantages as media people.
"Our English and Arabic desks are dominated by females," asserts Nazerian.
"And this is because of their inclination to learn foreign languages, especially Arabic and English."
According to the recent census, around 60 percent of Iran’s over 80 million population is aged between 16 and 35.
Azizeh Yazdani, who works for a local TV channel, says the growing presence of women in Iranian media proves they can excel in every field of life.
"Until recently, there was a myth here that the media is not at all an appropriate field for women because of odd timings, different kinds of pressures and chances of injuries during event reporting," she told IOL.
"But we have gradually proved that we can excel in any field," added Yazdani, who has a journalism degree from Tehran University.
"I myself and my various other female colleagues have traveled abroad to cover different events, including the Israel’s recent invasion of Lebanon. "
"We proved that we are equally competent like western women journalists, but the only difference is that we follow the Islamic dress code and they follow the western dress code."
Yazdani, who covers diplomatic and political affairs, admits that women have not yet taken their place at the helm of affairs in media organizations.
"Yes, I agree that you hardly find a female editor. But because the majority of women entered this profession in recent past, they need a little more time to reach senior positions.
"But you should not forget the fact that various women journalists are working as heads of their respective departments, if not as editors."
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