During much of the last two decades, Iran was a dangerous place to voice dissent or push for human rights — in some ways, it still is. But in recent years, especially since 1997, when the country elected Mohammad Khatami, a moderate cleric, as president, the revolution has matured. Conservatives and reformers continue to battle for political power, free speech is by no means protected, and Iran still has no official diplomatic relations with its ally-turned-enemy, the United States. But Iran today is a society in the midst of transformation. A generation has passed since the revolution, and social and political debate flourishes, offering unique perspectives on everything from dress to democracy to radicalism to rock and roll.

Iranian law does not always offer parity to women — men enjoy more rights in certain areas, like custody and inheritance. But women play an active, often pivotal role in social and political life; they were key, for instance, in the election and recent reelection of President Khatami. Female lawyers and journalists are vocal advocates of women's rights and more women hold high political posts and places in the university than at any time in Iran's history, including the Shah's era. Interestingly, one reason for women's advances in education is the Islamification of schools that took place after the revolution. Traditional families who might not have sent their daughters to co-ed classrooms now send them to sex-segregated schools where an Islamic curriculum is emphasized. The result: well over half of university students are now women.

Revolution Revised
Contrasts like these abound across the country. In remote villages, life is centered around the farm and the mosque, young people are married by parental decree, and modern luxuries are few. In Tehran, students demonstrate for more freedoms, artists test cultural and political boundaries, families ski on the nearby slopes, and teenagers flock to malls and Internet cafes. (A number of these were closed recently, after the government-run telephone company realized people were using the Internet to make cheap long-distance calls. However, the cafes seem to open as fast as they are shut, and for many Iranians, the Internet is an invaluable link to the outside world.) Tehran is the heartbeat of Iran's social consciousness, artistic creativity and political and economic power. Here, intellectuals discuss politics in coffee shops (but not in bars; alcohol is strictly forbidden), mullahs lead thousands in weekly prayers, and men and women gather in apartments for clandestine dance parties.

One Step Forward?
As reformers and conservatives continue their political tug-of-war, the outcome of Iran's experiment in religious democracy remains unclear. One year there might be scores of outspoken independent newspapers for sale; the next year most of them may be banned. In one week you might hear of young people jailed for listening to Western music but allowed to hold pro-reform campus rallies (the following week, the protesters might be arrested.) Views of the nation's progress are rarely simple; it's common to hear people praise the revolution while disparaging the current regime. Some worry the reformers are leading Iran away from its revolutionary ideals; others complain that Khatami's government has not gone far enough with its reforms. Debate will continue as the country works to solve its economic problems and define its domestic mandate and its place in the world. But despite the hurdles ahead, the fact that so many people are engaged in this debate is a positive sign, an inching toward the goals of a revolution that, from its inception, sought to lay more power in the hands of the people.