Coming of Age in Iran: Poverty and the Struggle for Dignity by Manata Hashemi (review)

For many scholars of Iran, especially those interested in the country's young demographics, the study of the youth and its struggle for upward mobility has remained central. In a timely and suggestive piece of ethnographic research focusing on the two cities of Tehran and Sari, Manata Hashemi makes a case for why the experiences of ordinary people— and more specifically, low-income Iranian youth—deserve attention. These young men and women between the ages of 15 and 29, who came of age after the revolution, constantly wrestle with economic hardship while also searching for a dignified life amid many uncertainties. The author finds that the "desire to maintain dignity and save face among some young, poor Iranians shape the way that they go about improving their lot in life" (p. 4).

Contrary to the widely held view that all poor youth feel necessarily oppressed and defiant, Hashemi argues that conformity with socially acceptable norms is likely to improve young people's perceptions of their moral worth, which they can subsequently exchange for socioeconomic opportunities (p. 5). In both appearance and deed, the poor youth are unlikely to challenge the moral order, as they constitute the backbone of the Islamic Republic (pp. 8–9). Zeroing in on culture and its dominant influence on the behavior of low-income youth, Hashemi attempts to demonstrate how young people manage under conditions of economic hardship (p. 22).

Within the context of deeply rooted attachments to cultural norms, Hashemi goes on to introduce the notion of incremental mobility that translates into "struggles to win small socioeconomic gains that may confer a sense of dignity to low-income actors" (p. 19). This adjustment to prevailing cultural institutions and norms constitutes the key to shaping the behavior of a varied group that includes farm laborers, artists, vendors, hairstylists, and students. Hashemi frames her central argument around the theme of saving face, arguing that within conditions of poverty, cultural practices provide some youth in Iran with an alternative basis of social contrast and incremental mobility to improve their lives (p. 32). It is in this context that the book raises its central question: "How do youth act out their ambitions and negotiate their status within such environments?" (p. 32)

In the ensuing chapters, the rules of morality—that is, the metrics by which face-savers can measure their own integrity vis-a-vis their peers—are defined in terms of self-sufficiency, hard work, purity, and appearance. This rationale, Hashemi notes, differentiates these young people from their morally impure counterparts, thus enabling face-savers to gain jobs and access to other opportunities (p. 34). Similarly, the author equates the rise in women's labor force participation with their dignity, as she writes: "Women's entry into the labor force is a direct consequence of their husbands' inability or unwillingness to meet various household expenses and thus, to provide for the family" (p. 77). Admittedly, it was economic need that drove many women to work and exercise agency. Hashemi attributes this not only to the pursuit of a better life but also to maintaining dignity in their day-to-day lives. The reality on the ground, however, points to rising unemployment throughout the country—a point that Hashemi is quick to recognize: "However, work—even informal, minor labor—is not available to all who may desire it" (p. 79).

Dressing for success and the association of looks and appearance with class and cultured behavior (Chapter 3) point to yet another interesting finding: "Face-savers make strategic investments of time, effort, and money in order to facilitate their access to knowledge of fashion and fitness trends, social etiquette, popular self-help books, and hip, denj (cozy) venues in the city" (pp. 101). Absent socioeconomic forms of distinction, Hashemi rightly argues, the physical appearance of being fashionable and cultured can serve as a means of differentiating themselves from their peers by physically exhibiting their moral worthiness...