One of the factors for the Iranian people’s uprising against the regime of Mohammad Reza Shah was that the regime of Shah was opposite to Islamic culture and values and tried to promote immorality in society.
The Islamic Revolution put an end to this evil situation and the promotion and propagation of religion replaced it. The religiosity and spirituality of the revolution is so important that Ayatollah Khamenei said, “The message of the Islamic Revolution is the message of spirituality, attention to spirituality and bringing the element of spirituality in human life and heeding of morality and God.”
During 4 decades, ample activities have been done for expansion of the Islamic culture. Mosques have played such an important role in this regard that Imam Khomeini called mosques as trenches of the revolution. In view of this, the number of mosques has approximately tripled compared with before the revolution. Every year, millions of Iranians benefit from the spiritual climate of mosques. In addition to mosques, the situation in the shrine of Imam Reza (AS) and Imamzadehs (shrines of the descendants of the Prophet of Islam) has also improved after the Islamic Revolution. The quantity and quality of religious ceremonies have increased. The mourning ceremonies for Imam Hussein and other Imams of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt (progeny) are held very gloriously and fervently. Hundreds of thousands of youths participate in the 20-million-strong Arabeen march toward the mausoleum of Imam Hussein in Karbala which takes place during the days marking the 40th anniversary of Imam Hussein’s martyrdom. The splendid ceremony of E’tekaf is also very significant. E’tekaf is staying in mosques for three days and nights reciting special prayers and supplications while the individual is fasting. This ceremony was almost forgotten before the Islamic Revolution while after the victory of the revolution it has turned into a very glorious event.
After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, many efforts have been made to promote lofty teachings of the Qur’an across the country. Presently, 11 thousand institutions related with Qur’an are active in cities and villages offering a variety of Qur’anic teachings to different age groups. Moreover, 35 rounds of international competitions of Qur’an have been held in Iran in different fields. These competitions are considered the most valid and important Qur’anic event in the world. Iranian reciters and memorizers of Qur’an have attained many honors in Qur’anic contests, too. The International Qur’an Exhibition is another cultural achievement of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Every year in the month of Ramazan, this exhibition attracts many enthusiasts from all over the country and abroad. Throughout 27 rounds of this exhibition the content and variety of the events have improved and the Qur’anic institutions and publications present their latest products to the enthusiasts and researchers.
The massive presence of the people from all walks of life was an obvious characteristic of the Islamic Revolution. However, the role of women has been very significant and effective in this regard. Being weary of the humiliation imposed by the regime of Shah, women rushed to the field of struggle against the regime once they heard the life-inspiring call of Imam Khomeini. After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, women have increasingly taken part in different domains such as politics, culture, economy, sciences, literature, art and sport. They have been present in every domain to defend the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic. Women take part in different demonstrations and other social and political events. The best example of women’s responsible presence in the scene was displayed during the 8-year war which claimed over 7000 martyrs among women in defence of the country and the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic has also had many achievements for women which we will mention some of them after the music.
Scores of laws have so far been ratified in the Iranian Majlis (parliament) for supporting the rights of women. Currently, there are nearly 2000 NGOs which work specifically on women’s affairs. During the Pahlavi regime, only 25% of women were literate, while this figure is 85% now. Nearly half of the university students are women and the number of female graduates has increased from 6% in pre-Revolution era to 44%. Besides, women constitute 20% of university professors while the number was just 6% before the Islamic Revolution. The Iranian women have made dazzling progresses in various scientific fields. The female physicians have increased 16 times more than the pre-revolution era. Furthermore, the number of specialists has increased from 600 before the revolution to 30 thousand after it. Moreover, the improvement of public conditions of health and hygiene in the country has increased women’s life expectancy from 50 to 79 years. Plus, mortality rate of mothers at childbirth has decreased 93% compared with the pre-revolution era. In other words, in 100 thousand childbirths, just 18 women die.
The Iranian people lived in extremely poor conditions during the Pahlavi rule, because the oil revenues were spent for revelries of the royal family and the courtiers and magnates who were in one way or another linked with the Shah and his masters in Washington. The Islamic Republic of Iran has attained great achievements in welfare services and development of cities and villages. Thus, Iran’s rank got from 110 to 60 in the field of human development index. Therefore, after 4 decades of the victory of the Islamic Revolution and establishment of the Islamic Republic system, the welfare and life expectancy of Iranians have increased while class gap has decreased. This has been evident in rural regions. While only 21% of villagers had access to drinking water before the Islamic Revolution, this figure has reached 81%. As for electricity in rural regions, just 7% of villages had electricity; the Islamic Republic connected almost all villages to the power grid. On the other hand, having the greatest gas reserves in the world, merely 50 thousand houses in Iran were connected to the gas grid while 97% of cities and 81% of villages now enjoy this God-given bounty and this trend continues. During the Pahlavi regime, most of the roads were dangerous and the few rural ones were really lethal with no asphalt. But the Islamic Republic has succeeded to expand asphalt roads to the remotest villages so that over 200 thousand kilometers of roads have been built in rural regions.
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