People inside Iran been demonstrating against their government for the past two weeks, taking tremendous risks and losing their lives in the hope of actualizing their dream of a free Iran. Horrific images and reports out of Iran indicate that hundreds of protesters have been killed, if not thousands. There has been a communication blackout […]
This is a short version of the talk I gave for the seminar called “Embodied Dignity: Worthy bodies: incarnated moralities” on December 9, 2025, 15h to 17h (UTC+1), at KULeuven. In the seminar, Walter Mignolo and I discussed the notion of embodied dignity in decolonial theory. *** I was given the assignment to begin with the […]
Abstract In Iran, the politically sanctioned discourses of embodiment and body management are based on binary notions of gender and sexuality. These discourses are contested by social trends that reflect political dissent. This article uses a combination of content and visual analysis of three Instagram profiles dedicated to fashion to answer the question: ‘Is queer […]
In Islamic law, kinship is defined by consanguineal and affinal relationships. Birth and Islamic marriage are important events that define religious responsibilities of family members towards each other. Some responsibilities are connected to Mahramiyat, a framework of interpersonal relations that regulates marriages and interactions with the opposite sex. Besides consanguineal and affinal bonds, mahramiyat and […]
Abstract: This article explores perceptions of Iranian academics of the relationship between women’s physical appearance and academic achievements. The research is conducted using interviews with academics working in different universities in the field of social sciences. Results included individual and structural explanations of the relationship between women’s physical appearance and academic achievements. Data showed a […]
Abstract: The Safavid dynasty ruled Persia between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries and is known as a turning period in the political, social, and religious trajectories of Persian history. The ethnographic literature about the Persian culture in the period, written by Western travelers is an indication of the forming relations between the West and the […]
I had discussed elsewhere that in contemporary Iranian society, sexuality is regulated by traditional cultural restrictions, prohibitions, taboos, and indirect regulations due to the country’s traditional and highly religious culture. The traditional restrictions on cross-sex associations are one of the many limitations that regulate the relationship between the sexes. Studies of sexuality in the context […]
Beauty and body management are important aspects of women’s everyday life in Iran (as I imagine in many other contexts). The phenomenon of cosmetic surgeries especially has been alarmingly growing in the past few decades. The cosmetic market is saturated with ads featuring tiny and ‘corrected’ noses. The medical industry seems to be welcoming the […]
Femininity is not merely a psychologically or biologically defined attribute. Despite the significance of biological and psychological mechanisms in the formation of gender, it is important to define it as a non-essentialist concept formed through socio-cultural processes. This exploratory study investigated women’s perceptions of femininities among Mazandarani, Azeri and Kurdish female university students in Iran. […]
This study investigated Iranian female amateur riders’ experiences and perceptions of horse riding in a sport arena largely appropriated by men. Despite women’s growing participation in sport in Iran, sports are considered male domains and there are still ongoing debates over women’s participation, dress code, and limitations on bodily movements and representations in sports arenas. […]