Reforms of Islamic Republic

Continuity of centralised government

Central bureaucracy grew from 20 ministries with 304,000 civil servants (1979) to 26 ministries with 850,000 (1982); the public sector expanded (two-thirds of enterprise controlled by government) and banks were nationalised

Mostazafen Foundation (continuity)

Khomeini repurposed the Shah's administrative apparatus - the successor to the Pahlavi Foundation confiscated the property of at least 50 millionaires, with assets over $20 billion by the late 1980s

SAVAK becomes SAVAMA

Rebranded with many of the same personnel, such as Hosain Fardoust, deputy head of SAVAK and then head of SAVAMA until 1985; "The brutality of the former SAVAK paled in comparison to what was meted out in the new Islamic republic" (Ghattas)

Media repression

40 newspapers closed down following the revolution; the 11 February 1979 seizure of NIT headquarters gave Khomeini command of all Tehran-based broadcasting and ended Bakhtiar's caretaker government

Late-1980s social films

Greater awareness of domestic issues emerged through film: Under the Moonlight (homelessness, drugs), Low Heights (hijacking/joblessness), A House Built on Water (abortion, addiction)

One-party rule and executions

In 1981 Khomeini banned all parties but the Islamic Republican Party; June 1981-85 revolutionary courts executed more than 8,000 opponents (MeK, Kurds, Tudeh) - 79x the number between 1971-79; 15,000 were imprisoned in Evin by 1983, a prison meant for 300 in the Shah's reign

Oil revenue continuity

Oil remained the most important feature of the economy: revenue rose from $34 million (1954-55) to $20 billion (1975-76) under the Shah, and averaged $15 billion per year in the 1980s under Khomeini

War damage to the oil industry

The Iran-Iraq war destroyed Khorramshahr (the main port on the Shatt al-Arab) and the Abadan refinery; September 1987-April 1988 the US destroyed oil platforms, leading to $6 billion in lost revenue

Persistent economic problems

Despite promises of transformation, high inflation, high unemployment and housing shortages persisted due to war, mismanagement, revolutionary turmoil and the flight of talent and capital

Cultural Revolution against Westoxification

Led by the Ministry of Islamic Guidance; "Western music and Western entertainment forbidden" (NYT, 1984), i.e. liquor and cinemas; radio and television were "no different from opium"

Moral executions and bans

1980 saw the first executions of two prostitutes, a homosexual and an adulterer; European personal names were banned; towns named after Reza Shah reverted to previous names (e.g. Pahlavi to Enzeli) and the Shah Mosque was renamed the Imam Mosque

Persecution of Baha'is

In the 1980s more than 200 Baha'is (the largest non-Muslim group) were tortured or imprisoned, with thousands losing jobs and education

University purges

From 1980 all universities were shut down for 3 years, with the "student and professor corps also purged" (Ghattas); 700 scholars lost their jobs

The Basij at home

The new volunteer paramilitary force destroyed music records and bottles of alcohol; Coca-Cola was renamed Zam Zam Cola

Degrading the role of women

Khomeini annulled the 1967 Family Protection Law, returning the legal marriage age to 13 and removing custody rights in divorce; the age of criminal responsibility was lowered to 9 for girls; the veil was reimposed and coeducation banned except at university (opposite sides of the class)

Women's resistance

Opposition came in large peaceful demonstrations in Tehran - women were "fooled" by Khomeini (NYT, October 1979); however, women retained the right to vote

Health and education gains

1979-1989: life expectancy rose from 58 to 66, infant mortality per 1,000 dropped from 123 to 65, the proportion of children in school rose from 60% to 90% and the literacy rate doubled; a quarter of the annual budget went to subsidies for the poor (food, electricity, sanitation, piped water)

Constitutional welfare rights

Article 29 of the 1979 Constitution stated the right to social security covering health, unemployment and retirement; Article 30 guaranteed free education

Rural development

Jehad-e Sazandegi (Reconstruction Jihad) built extensive rural infrastructure; Khomeini distributed more than 850,000 hectares of confiscated agrobusiness land to 220,000 peasant families in Gurgan, Mazanderan and Khuzestan - similar to the Shah's land reform but larger in scale and more successful

1989 Labour Law

Improved labour standards through the introduction of the minimum wage and 6-day, 48-hour work weeks

Empowering the bazaars

Speech of 15 January 1981: "The President and the bazaaris are brothers."; the Council of Guilds the Shah closed was revived as the 'Islamic Association of Bazaar Guilds', and 70% of the deputies of the first Majlis were from the bazaar rather than land-owning notables

Guardian Council's economic conservatism

Vetoed the nationalisation of foreign trade and a proposal to place a ceiling on land ownership; the Ministry of Economics issued ration cards for basic goods to aid the poor