Sherkat’s transformation from a revolutionary student to a reformist journalist parallels the stories of many of her contemporaries in Iran, although her journey is even further complicated by gender politics. Many of those at the vanguard of the Islamic fundamentalist upheaval of the late 1970s later had second thoughts. Some led a reform movement that swept moderate President Mohammed Khatami to power in 1997.
Still, hard-line clerics continue to dominate Iranian society and politics. And Sherkat continues to get into trouble with her popular magazine, which is a mix of self-help tips (“Questions You Can’t Ask Your Doctor”), political commentaries (“Will We Ever Have Female Ministers?”) and feminist theory (“Islam, Feminism and Patriarchy”). She has been sued by a variety of conservative groups and individuals for publishing articles about homosexuality and security-force abuses. Last year Sherkat was charged by a revolutionary court with “propagating against the Islamic Republic” and sentenced to a four-month jail term. Her crime: arguing at a conference in Berlin that the Islamic dress code should not be obligatory. (The case is under appeal.)
Like most Iranian women, Sherkat is a practicing Muslim and gladly wears Islamic dress. But in her mild-mannered way she believes she is winning a quiet war for women’s rights. Her hope: to capitalize on the voting power of women, who have already helped sweep reformists like Khatami into power. “The pace of the progress women are making in our country is much faster than [politicians] realize,” she says. “We may have a woman president much earlier than anyone expects.”
