WOMEN AND SOCIAL-CHANGE - TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING GENDER RELATIONS IN RURAL IRAN

In this paper, I argue that the views of recent studies on rural women in Iran are partial. I question their methodology for not being able to grasp the multiplicity of women's roles and the complexity of their lives. I draw from my experience of field work in a Northern agricult ural village, demonstrate how women's complex reality needs to be stud ied on several levels, and how micro and macro processes are linked an d reflected in people's everyday life. I argue that gender relations a re power relations and intertwined with other relations of power withi n a specific context. Understanding the dynamics of these power relati ons are crucial if our research aims to generate development policies that promote change and bring gender equality.