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Farahnaz Shiri

First female bus driver in Tehran

>>>Watch

 

Director and producer: Sadaf Foroughi
Editor: Erez Laufer and Sadaf Foroughi

About the Film
In the male dominated society of Iran, Farahnaz Shiri, the first female bus driver in Tehran, has made her own little society in her bus. In Iran there are different sections for men and women on public buses. Women should enter buses from the back door, which is separated from men’s entrance, and should sit or stay in a limited zone at the end of the buses which is separated from men’s zone. But in Mrs. Shiri’s bus everything is vice-versa. She is the governor and the only law maker of her own little society. In her bus, men must enter from the backdoor entrance and must sit or stay in the limited zone at the end of the bus. Mrs. Shiri is struggling to prove herself in this society and resisting a series of injustices that she faces as a woman in the Iranian society>>>Watch

About the Director
Sadaf Foroughi was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1976. She
graduated with a bachelor degree in French literature and continued her study in master degree in cinema and now she is student on PHD in film philosophy. She joined to Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA) in 2004. Till now she has 9 short films in her cinematographic background and has taken a part as an editor in 4 short films.She has some experiences in photography and choreography. Among her recent works is the documentary produced by experimental and documentary film centre of Iran. She also made two video arts produced by New York film Academy in 2008. She is currently presenting her new documentary produced by STEPS International>>>Watch

Who's your Iranian of the day? EMAIL PHOTO

from Masoud
21-Oct-2007
Iranians of the Day | Photos
Balatarin
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Aussie Kim

My reply (below)

by Aussie Kim on Tue May 04, 2010 05:16 PM PDT

I apologise - I thought my reply would have something in it that would make it obvious I was replying to "No freedom for women".

 

Sorry about its apparently random nature.


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Aussie Kim

Don't worry

by Aussie Kim on Tue May 04, 2010 05:15 PM PDT

When women DO take over, I guarantee NO ONE will be fucking YOU.

 

CHOICE includes the freedom to to say NO.


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Good on her and other woman drivers!

by Mehdi_ (not verified) on Mon Oct 22, 2007 09:21 AM PDT

Good on her. She may be the 1st woman bus driver in Tehran, but she is NOT the first bus driver.
Farideh Golab has been driving a passenger bus between
Gazvin and Teran since 1996. Some of us tend to exaggerate our sentiments ("I am embarrassed of my heritage"?? , "Lioness"? "Fighter"?? ) Come on please, lets put things in perspective.

You can see Fariden Golab here. No lioness, No fighter, she just does a job!

//youtube.com/watch?v=0Q4YnOmh6g8


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you go gal ...

by zohreh (not verified) on Mon Oct 22, 2007 08:54 AM PDT

good on her... why not..


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interesting

by MRX (not verified) on Mon Oct 22, 2007 08:26 AM PDT

Thirty some years a go we had women all phaze of life from engineers, doctors, to judges, legistators,
pilots you name it. appearently none of that was a big ddeal or accomplishments but having a female bus driver in 2007 is! Amazing how much we have fallen behind. Tommorow we will be amazed again as an obscure iranian woman will discover fire!


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I recognize haji anywhere...

by ashghal shenas (not verified) on Sun Oct 21, 2007 03:27 PM PDT

haji kholeh, baz ter zadi ke.....


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no freedom for women

by man power (not verified) on Sun Oct 21, 2007 03:18 PM PDT

زن عقل کم و کوچی دارد.نبال پول و طلا و شهوت.....میرود و اگر به زن ها آزادی بیش از حد بدهید در ست مثل اینکه مار در آستین خودتان بزرگ کرده ائی...نه اینکه زن های شما در روزی هزار بار کون تان را پاره می کنند طلا ق می گیرند پول و منزل شمآ را بالا می کشند و تو بغل غریبه ها ......مردهای بد بخت غربی و انگلیسی روزی هزار بآر آرزوی مرگ دارند که چه آشتاهی کردند به زن هایشان قدرت دادنند...در ست مثل دیدن صورت حمینی در ماه و آزآدی دادن به آخوندها......وقدرت.....


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no freedom for women

by man (not verified) on Sun Oct 21, 2007 03:07 PM PDT

just wait to like Canada women came in power then see how they are going to fuck all of man , then you are going to be sorry and is to late ,if women get in power
those they will be end of the man life


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God Bless You All

by AB (not verified) on Sun Oct 21, 2007 02:14 PM PDT

More power to you and women like you -for that matter to anyone like you, male or female, who has courage to be strong and stand up to such hadships under such conditions.
God bless you all.


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A fighter

by Anonymous54354 (not verified) on Sun Oct 21, 2007 02:03 PM PDT

you have to fight for the basics in iran. sad. but it;s the only way. specially with this shit they call choslamic republic(call real goh)


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Majid

Actually

by Majid on Sun Oct 21, 2007 01:55 PM PDT

Actually there was  another Iranian woman bus driver who, with her husband, ran a "owner/operator" transit bus system "Ta'avoni" in Iran.  There was an episode about them in PBS about 2 years ago and a friend of mine recorded that episode on VHS.  I should still have it somewhere. In that episode the reporter and the camera man were in the bus on a trip from Tehran to Kerman.  It was a very interesting subject and very interesting video.

More power to Iranian women like them! God bless them all.


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Lioness!

by nassrin (not verified) on Sun Oct 21, 2007 01:16 PM PDT

She is a lioness of the streets and life, in todays Iran under the current government.
A very Brave Courageous woman!
It makes my blood boil, boil, boil when the man's voice at the end says "in joori, ageh khanoom beshineh posht farmoon Eslam dar khatareh"!
Hamin joor fekr kardaneh keh maro beh in rooz neshoondeh!


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I am embarrassed of my heritage.

by Dispair (not verified) on Sun Oct 21, 2007 12:19 PM PDT

I'll start by saying that I have a lot of respect for this woman.
Last night I broke down. I had just watched this clip and was flipping through the channels and doc network was showing the documentary on Iran's kidney black market. I was so embarrassed, angry and helpless. Regardless of how optismtic one tries to be, there is no denying that we Iranians are probably one of the handful groups of people with a strong propensity for regression. I am so overwhelmed with the things that are wrong with this new Iranian culture and society that I don't know how to organize my thoughts. From the fact that we have such a repressive culture that a woman-bus driver is clip-worthy, to the almost absolut lack of respect (from even her own son) for someone who is essentially challenging a society. I almost threw up when the guy in the bus had become speechless for being asked to sit in the back of the bus--do these people not have mothers, wives, sisters, or any woman in their lives whom they respect and admire? I guess I felt a little better after the scene where she confronted a bunch of retards (probably because I am sick of seeing and hearing how Iran has become a society of "zoor gooie." Don't get me wrong, zoorgooie is human natur, but all other civilized societies having realized this have done their best to have checks and balances in place to protect the ones who are being unfairly treated).

I guess I am supposed to be happy and proud to see this, but somehow being in 2009, and knowing that 30 years ago, Iran had female judges, legislatures, pilots, scientists, etc. makes me physically ill. It makes me sad to realize that I won't see a progressive Iranian society within my lifetime.


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IRI is double apartheid system based on both gender and beliefs.

by I want to scream (not verified) on Sun Oct 21, 2007 11:04 AM PDT

This female bus driver (Farahnaz) is another symbol of an Iranian lioness. She is brave and has a giant heart as big as Caspian Sea.

Thanks to Sadaf Foroughi for making this documentary. Also thanks to Masoud and Iranian.com for making it available for us to get a small glimpse of the pain of Iranian women in this brutal and apartheid state of Islamic Iran.

"The Islamic Republic in Iran (IRI) created a double apartheid system based on both gender and beliefs. This has resulted in a multi-layer system in which male Shia clerics enjoy almost unlimited rights, including the right to kill (by issuing fatwa), while those at the bottom of the hierarchy, i.e. Bahais and atheists may even have to forgo the right to live. The civil and political rights of women are severely restricted in jobs, marriage and in courts. It is well publicised that women’s testimony in courts are valued as half of that of a man."

By Hossein Bagher Zadeh is a human rights activist


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