Iran women see new opportunities alongside old barriers.

Iranian women face major obstacles but also new opportunities
40 years after the Islamic revolution Iranian women
face major obstacles but also new opportunities
40 years after the Islamic revolution (AFP Photo/ATTA KENARE)

Tehran (AFP) - Saba was just 25 when she left her design job in New York to work on a project renovating an art gallery back in her hometown Tehran.

Within months, she won three more contracts to do up galleries and the lobby of an apartment complex.

"I had dreamt of building my own company, but I hadn't expected it to happen any time soon. If I had stayed in New York, I wouldn't have had this chance," said Saba, now 27.

She says the position of women in Iran has changed a lot over the past decade.

"People now trust women in management positions. Still it's hard, especially on a construction site. But it's hard anywhere. It's hard in New York," she told AFP.

As the Islamic republic marks its 40th birthday, few issues are more politically sensitive or full of contradictions than the status of women.

Full story at Yahoo News.

By Amir Havasi and Eric Randolph.