ctions have provided just cause. According to analysts, Islam "regards men and women as absolutely equal in their religious and civil duties, although it does not understand this equality as implying equivalence of natural capacities and talents, or as identity of roles. Islam's view, therefore, is one of equality, not equivalence (Faruqi & Faruqi, 1986, p. 150).
Many feminists in Islamic societies, says Armstrong (2000), see such superficially (in their view) repressive requirements as veiling in public to be both a source of protection and an affirmation of a purely Islamic understanding of feminism. In other words, for some Islamic feminists, the wearing of the veil is less meaningful than the other restrictions that impact upon their capacity to participate freely in public life, in education, and in professional activities (Armstrong, 2000). Tohidi (2002) suggested that in Islam, feminism is often equated with fundamentalist revolutionary movements such as that which took place in Iran in the 1970s; however, the Islamist regime that replaced the Shah began its reign with forced sex segregation and attacks on the freedoms and rights of people, which especially affected women. Over time, says Tohidi (2002), the position of women in Iran has improved. They are now allowed to vote and, while veiled, are moving toward greater political equality.
According to many modern Islamic women, including Fatima
Mernissi (1987), Islamic culture, tradition and society have not always reflected the religious values expressed in the Qur'an with respect to the status and treatment of women. Mernissi (1987), for example, notes that until relatively recently, Islamic women (particularly those who are "unveiled" or who have rejected the wearing of the jilbah) have been isolated within their families and homes, prohibited from pursuing education or careers, and not regarded as a factor in political or public life in Islamic countries. As women ...