Culturally, as a young American woman, I find it nearly impossible to imagine growing up in a country like Iran; and I am an Iranian-American. But are women in Iran really that much different than women in America? With my project, I plan to compare and contrast the life of an Iranian woman in college to what I know college life to be in the United States. I propose to photograph an Iranian woman between the ages of 18-25, who attends a college or university in Iran, and compare the academic, emotional, social and moral issues she faces.

My father, an Iranian, often tells me of the beauty of his native land. My grandparents, who live in Iran, encourage me to come visit. I used to say to them when they invited me to their house, "How can I come visit? They don't let women leave their homes!" My grandfather would just laugh and tell me there was a lot more to the country than I understood. I often wonder, and do even more today as I am set to graduate college, what my life would have been like if my father had decided to stay in Iran instead of coming to America in 1968.

Though the fundamentalist regime has not changed for 24 years, since the revolution of 1978-79, the struggle of women in Iran is not unrecognized. What is it like for a girl in college in Iran, if she gets to go to college at all? Does she worry about her grades? Does she think about getting a job and supporting herself? Does she dream of love? Does she go to social gatherings? What makes an Iranian woman in college different from me, and more importantly, what makes her the same?

There has been a sharp rise in Internet use in Iran in the past few years. Over half a million people were logged on in 2001, with the numbers expected to rise dramatically in the next few years according to a BBC News article published in June 2002. Not surprisingly, most of the surfers are women, and the most popular activity is the web-log, or blog. A blog is an online journal, and since the Internet is not censored in Iran, women can talk freely about any number of issues that concern them. Surprisingly, most women simply talk about boys, movies they have seen, or music they have heard. The blog is sometimes the only place a woman can talk freely.

Though there are many similarities between Iranian and American women, there are important differences as well. In a study performed by an Iranian magazine called Farzaney, 300 girls living in Iran were compared to 300 Iranian girls living in America. Only 26% of the girls living in Iran said they had ever had any relationship with someone of the opposite sex, while 85% of Iranian-American girls said the same. 94% of the Iranians said they spent their leisure time with their family, while 10% of Iranian-Americans said the same.

Just last month in Iran, the body of a girl, ironically with the same first name as mine, was found raped and murdered. She had been abducted while participating in an anti-government demonstration at Shiraz University. This is a clear reminder of the kind of government that rules Iran, and the different challenges that Iranian women face everyday.

We are all aware of how these women are different from us. Much less apparent is how we are the same. Women are women, no matter where they come from. But what kind of academic, emotional, social, and moral differences and similarities occur when comparing an American woman in college and an Iranian woman in college? I plan to contact and establish a relationship with an Iranian woman in college through an online penpal service, which I have used successfully in the past. In the fall of 2003, I plan to travel to Iran for the first time, staying at my grandparent's house, and begin photographing the woman that I have contacted.