Women of Deh Koh

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Post-Revolutionary Iran is a country beleaguered with social ills. From poverty and unemployment to illiteracy to, what amounts to, a population explosion, Iran is a country in crisis. This is the picture painted by Erika Friedl in the prologue of her book, Women of Deh Koh: Lives in an Iranian Village. While Friedl acknowledges that Deh Koh is a fictional name used to represent an actual village, she uses the name in a broader sense to represent over twenty-six thousand mountain villages of Iran; Deh Koh is Friedl's way of speaking in broad terms while still being specific.

The Village of Deh Koh

As illustrated by Friedl, the village of Deh Koh is not wrought with amenities; a reality that is even more omnipresent for the women of these villages, who are often left to fend for themselves in an ever-changing society. While Friedl openly acknowledges that there are more opportunities available for Iranian women then there were before the revolution, the fact still remains, that even with education, Iranian women are still finding it hard to secure jobs and a middle-class lifestyle; Friedl is writing about the feminization of poverty (a common occurrence in the United States).

The Female Class in Deh Koh

Friedl continues her analysis of the female class in Deh Koh noting the following:

• Because women are often unemployable and modern conveniences have made many public spaces "male territory," women are unable to spend even causal time in the company of other women.
• This, Friedl argues, is what is causing the women of Iran to loose their identity.
• Friedl writes, "Less visible than ever before, women in Iran seem to be mere shadows behind their dark veils".

In considering Friedl's description of modern life in Iran, one begins to wonder what things were like for women before the revolution.