Islamic theocracy, but she didn't know she was doing that then.
She was/is naturally liberal and raised affluent and educated in an urban environment, but she was also Muslim in a very conservative culture and she was very concerned for the direction of her country. The Shah's "White Revolution" of forced massive modernization and liberalization hurt her affluent family. And she was young, of course. She thought she was voting for democracy to replace the Shah's authoritarian government, not to revoke her new rights as a woman.
She believed the Ayatollah's reform rhetoric -- that she was voting for a sort of kind and gentle theocracy lite overlay on democracy that would provide moral guidance to reform corruption (populist leaders ALWAYS claim to be "reformers"
and offset the wave of westernization that was swamping Iran's own beloved culture.
Long before she and her sister fled the country for the U.S., she of course knew what a terrible mistake many moderate voters like her had made, including underestimating the power and passion of Iran's religious conservatives. Their dying father helped them leave to escape the very conservative brother who would take over their lives after he was gone.
Edit history
Recommendations
0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):
= new reply since forum marked as read