The Great Gender Divergence

The Great Gender Divergence

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The Great Gender Divergence
The Great Gender Divergence
From Morality Police to Playground Bullies

From Morality Police to Playground Bullies

How Some Women Escape While Others Can't

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Alice Evans
Jul 02, 2025
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The Great Gender Divergence
The Great Gender Divergence
From Morality Police to Playground Bullies
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Age 3, Azadeh triumphantly cartwheeled before guests in their Iranian home - showing off her skills! But her joy was instantly eclipsed by her parents’ disgust. As her skirt flipped down, they recoiled in horror. That’s Azadeh’s earliest memory - revulsion.

Years later, at a women’s rights conference in Sweden, Azadeh bounded up to me, introducing herself as an avid reader of my research. Instantly, we became pals, as Azadeh shared stories from western Iran, explaining why patriarchy persists her homeland and what enables the diaspora to achieve liberal freedoms. Again and again, we see the cardinal forces driving cultural evolution: power, punishment, and prestige.

“Woman Life Freedom”, besides a riot police attacking a protestor. Grafiti in Iran, sourced by Katayoun Vaziri

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