The hard work, the lack of rights, and the knowledge that other Iranian women have easier lives have made many nomadic women agents of change. Mahnaz Gheybpour, 41, moved out of tents a decade ago. She and her husband migrate between two modest houses, one in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, for winter, the other a place near Chelgard for the summer. "I won't let my daughters marry a nomad," she said. "Our lifestyle is horrible. I want them to live in a city and study."
Gheybpour got married when she was 16. "I was a child," she said. "My 17-year-old daughter doesn't want to marry. She tells me, 'Why should I make my life miserable, like yours?' "