Women
The Fragrance of
Local Color by Mehru Jaffer
Author of the recently published 'Jasmine and Stars: Reading More
Than Lolita in Tehran', Professor Fatemeh Keshavarz, 55, says that
she is at home on three continents. Keshavarz, who stopped working in
Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution, completed her PhD from London
University and has been teaching Persian and comparative literature at
Washington University, St. Louis, USA, for over two decades.
Describing herself as an activist, who believes in peacefully talking
about making this world a better place, she feels her profession is also
a means to attaining the ideals in which she believes.
Keshavarz is the face of the new Iranian liberal, the post-Cold War
citizen of the world, struggling to free the mind of ideological
dominance imposed on cultures around the world by both Left and Right
politicians.
Keshavarz has no time for revolutions, as revolutions do not present
their perspectives politely and peacefully. They throw them at you,
explains the professor. Instead, she prefers to listen to grievances
that have the potential to erupt into revolutions. While she feels that
this is the occasion to speak to each other, she says it may not be
possible till one recognizes the humanity and contribution of those in
disagreement.
Keshavarz sees no contradiction in being a Muslim and a feminist; in
being progressive and Islamic. "Any Muslim woman concerned with justice
for women, and working to create equal opportunities for herself and
others, is both a Muslim and a feminist," she states.
While she is modern enough to know that scientific and educational
contributions make people progress, she is also traditional enough to
know that cultures are much more than the face they make when they are
angry.
Her book 'Jasmine and Stars' is titled after the memory of being woken
up each morning by the feel and fragrance of the satin-smooth petals of
white jasmine blossoms that her grandmother would place under her sleepy
nose each dawn. She recalls returning to bed on summer evenings under a
canopy of skies ablaze with stars. Interestingly, Keshvaraz grew up in
Shiraz, the city of rose gardens and the home of poets Sa'adi and Hafiz.
She is pained at the continuing dehumanization of Muslims in the West
and by the monstrous representation of the West by extremists. To look
upon the Eurocentric, secular Western model as the only vision of
progress needs correction in this day and age. Such a black and white
view of the world has silenced the vast majority of the Iranian
population that does not necessarily embrace Western values but, at the
same time, is not in agreement with actions of the Iranian government
that are wrong, undemocratic or punitive.
Keshvaraz grew up in Shiraz, surrounded by people whose life revolved
around poetry and literature. Her maternal uncle became her role model.
For one who worked for the army and wore an elegant military uniform, he
was completely unimpressed with corrupt power. He was a painter and
taught Keshavarz lessons of life through delightful narrations of Sufi
stories that continue to inspire her.
"His temperament was, and still is, that of an artist. He is gentle,
extremely polite, humorous, subtle, and yet impatient with mediocrity
and corruption. Even in my teen years and despite the great dignity that
Iranian tradition attached to seniority, he would not stay seated when I
or any other of his nieces and nephews entered the room. He would rise
and show all the courtesy shown normally to a guest of his own rank and
age. He would not do it as a formality either, but with genuine warmth
and a signature smile," recalls Keshvaraz warmly.
Such in-depth descriptions of the ordinary Iranian throughout her book
have two specific goals. One is a reaction to the horror and pain
Keshavarz experienced after reading 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' (RLT),
Azra Nafisi's bestseller, published in 2004, in which life in Iran is
reduced to black and white.
She dubs books like RLT as part of the New Orientalist narrative and
speaks of the need to critically scrutinize the proliferation, in recent
times, of this kind of writing. "This is important because such
narratives simplify their subject, explaining undesirable Middle Eastern
incidents in terms of Muslim men's submission to God and Muslim women's
submission to men," she says.
Such narratives erase the complexity and richness from local cultures
and there is a strong undercurrent of superiority and impatience with
the locals, who are always portrayed as uncomplicated zombies.
The New Orientalist narration thrives in the shadow of the Orientalist,
a concept introduced by Edward Said in the last century. Said found the
18th and 19th century European philologists' view of the Orient as being
great in the past but devoid of self awareness and critical thought
today. This attitude encouraged Europeans to exploit the people they
conquered without guilt, for they did not think that the locals deserved
any better.
Post-Cold War, and now post 9/11, there seems a need to refashion the
"enemy" of the West - giving birth to a popular version of the
Orientalist approach to the Middle East Muslim that is dangerous. It is
adding fuel to fiery controversies like the current one over Iran's
nuclear issue. "The controversy throws a curtain over the diversity and
humanity of the majority population of Iran - to project the country
frightening enough to justify a military attack," thinks Keshavarz.
She singles out 'Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic
Women' by Geraldine Brookes; 'The Bookseller of Kabul' by
Asne Seierstad; 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini and RLT
as examples of the best-known New Orientalist narrative that is consumed
by lay readers. Such narratives distort the image of contemporary Iran
and other Middle Eastern countries to a portrait that has two large
holes in the place of eyes, argues the professor.
"In 'Jasmine and Stars' I carefully and painstakingly weave a multi-hued
tapestry of human voice and experience. I turn my narrating voice into a
vehicle for the rainbow of the faces and words that filled my childhood
and youth in Iran. I will not select any particular time period, target
any specific political movement, privilege any class or gender, or
handpick any specific social event. It is designed to be a meaningful
excursion into modern day Iran: a culture as charming, creative,
humorous and humane as any culture that has much to offer the world,"
she says.
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Author of the recently published 'Jasmine and Stars: Reading More
Than Lolita in Tehran', Professor Fatemeh Keshavarz, 55, says that
she is at home on three continents. Keshavarz, who stopped working in
Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution, completed her PhD from London
University and has been teaching Persian and comparative literature at
Washington University, St. Louis, USA, for over two decades.