Abstract: This introductory article examines the relationship between gender, sexuality, and state violence through a transnational, historical, and intersectional lens. We argue that state violence against women and LGBTQIA+ communities operates through diverse mechanisms, including discriminatory laws, institutional neglect, surveillance, and direct physical and symbolic violence. The article emphasizes the importance of understanding how gender- […]
Abstract: In this article, I trace Safavid paintings depicting women’s imagery online and explore the possibility of digitally mapping Safavid (1501–1736) paintings featuring women on publicly accessible platforms. Along with the practice of online mapping that led me to digital museums, I investigated the descriptions presented on three digitized paintings on different platforms to address […]
Abstract: On the fifth of February 2022, a man gruesomely murdered his seventeen-year-old wife, Mona Heydari, in a city in a southern province of Iran. The man then shocked bystanders by strolling in public spaces while carrying his wife’s severed head. This paper focuses on the case of Mona’s killing and investigates the state, media, […]
Abstract: In Flanders-Belgium, a Belgo-Iranian politician has gained nation-wide attention for her critique of Islam. Safai’s political discourses are built around her opposition to the violation of women’s rights in Iran, and to the hijab as a political-patriarchal symbol. Through this latter opposition, she has gained prominence among Flemish nationalists. The emphasis in Safai’s discourses […]
Abstract: Religion can be a source of both pressure and empowerment for mothers. It is sometimes speculated that Muslims have more negative attitudes toward childlessness, as Islam values and encourages procreation. Islam also has associated Muslim women’s social position with motherhood. Motherhood is frequently mentioned in connection to birth-giving, breastfeeding, and caring for the children […]
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 […]
I am often asked about Iran and the lives of Iranian women, especially why they are overeducated when compared to Iranian men. Seems to me that what surprises people (mostly in the West) about women’s situation in Iran, is not because the facts are so fabulous or astonishing per se; it is more because they […]
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. Socialization processes are gendered as a consequence of there being different […]
Violence against women is still happening around the world, generating physical and psychological pain and disability for many of its victims. Violence in premarital relationships is an implicit aspect of violence against girls and women in Iranian society. Young girls who get involved in premarital relationships are very vulnerable to all forms of violence due […]
Months ago, in a class of my doctorate program, a male classmate and the professor started a discussion about educated women’s relative ugliness claiming that women who enter higher education are uglier than the less educated. After participation in this debate, I wondered if women are always judged by their appearances regardless of their accomplishments. […]