Sex segregation in Iran

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High school students in Iran. All Iranian schools are segregated by sex.

Sex segregation in Iran encompasses practices derived from the conservative dogma of Shiite Islam currently taking place in Iran. Most areas of the country are segregated by sex, except universities. In many cities, there are women parks. Sex segregation prohibits males from viewing females, and age of consent laws do not exist, as all sexual activity outside marriage is illegal. Just recently, certain parts of Iranian society primarily in wealthy urban neighborhoods have accepted relationships between unmarried individuals.^[1]

Reza Shah era[]

Reza Shah attempted to challenge the patriarchal structure of Iran by increasing visibility and mobility of women and to emancipate them from what he viewed as oppressive traditional practices.^[2] This included a repudiation of sex-segregation with an order made in 1936 that Tehran University enrol its first woman.^[3][4] Shah attempted to unveil the women of Iran. In 1929, he issued a law forcing Iranians to wear modern clothing and banning women from wearing the veil. A significant number of women from the middle class considered the abolishment of veils as freedom from oppression, however for others, the veil was not considered oppressive but protection from the eyes of strangers.^[5]

After the Islamic Revolution[]

Basiji Students meeting with Ali Khamenei, 1999

When Ruhollah Khomeini called for women to attend public demonstration and ignore the night curfew, millions of women who would otherwise not have dreamt of leaving their homes without their husbands' and fathers' permission or presence, took to the streets. Khomeini's call to rise up against Mohammad Reza Shah took away any doubt in the minds of many devoted Muslim women about the propriety of taking to the streets during the day or at night. After the Iranian revolution, however, Khomeini publicly announced his disapproval of mixing between the sexes.^[6]

Khomeini favored single-sex schools in his speech at the anniversary of the birth of Fatimah bint Muhammad, saying:

As the religious leaders have influence and power in this country, they will not permit girls to study in the same school with boys. They will not permit women to teach at boys' schools. They will not permit men to teach at girls' schools. They will not allow corruption in this country.^[7]

Sex segregation of public places such as beaches or swimming pools was ordered and legally introduced.

Adult males are not permitted to be in contact with females except under the presence of parents. They must intend to marry and until marriage are under parent control.^[8]

Bakeries[]

A bakery with two windows to separate male and female customers, Iran, 2021s. In this bakery the right side queue for men and left side queue for women. In Iran; Apart from bakeries, mosques, schools, libraries, music concerts, public transport and many other places are sex segregated.

In bakeries across Iran, men and women must stand in separate lines when buying bread.

Urban buses[]

Buses are divided in two parts. Men are required to get on and off through the front door, while the back section and back doors are intended for women. Although bus services in Iran are sex-segregated, women are required to remain fully covered while inside the bus. In other cities such as in Mashhad, males and females were prevented from traveling on the same bus. Traditionally it is not acceptable in Iran for a man to sit or stand beside a non-mahram woman in public places.

In 2021, Tehran municipality announced that it has introduced female-only buses and minibuses inside the city. All the drivers are female and all the passengers should be female, no man is allowed to get on the bus. ^[9]

Tehran metro[]

There are special wagons specific to females and, according to Metro laws, entrance of men in these wagons is illegal. Also according to Islamic penal codes, if a woman has an objection against a man, this is considered as female violence and has legal punishment.^[10]

Beaches[]

In 1979, officials calling the current situation of beaches as "idolatry" started to segregate beaches by sex. By the Caspian coasts, beaches were divided by sex. In the port of Bandare Anzali protesters continued to object for 3 months, but the governor Abolghasem Hosseinjani neglected them and divided the beach by 200 m segments named for men, for women and not suitable for swimming.^[11]

Kindergartens and schools[]

The education system is single-sex and boy and girls go to different schools. Governmental rules don't allow the mingling of boys and girls in kindergartens. ^[12]

Dress code[]

After the revolution, Parliament made it compulsory for all women to observe the veil and for the first time rules prescribing the Hijab as proper attire for women were written into the law.^[13]

According to the law, women's clothing should meet the following conditions:

• Women must cover their entire body except their faces and hands (from wrist to the base of the fingers).
• Women who choose not to wear chador, must wear a long overcoat called manteau. Manteau should be thick enough to conceal what is underneath, and should be loose fitting.
• Women should not wear bright colored clothes or clothes that are adorned so that they may attract men's attention.^[14] In recent years, many women have begun wearing more colorful dresses in public and this seems to be tolerated by the moral police. Correspondingly, Iranians have been arrested or received warnings over bad hijabi ("improper veiling").^[15]

What follows is an excerpt from Ayatollah Khamenei's speech regarding bad-hijabi:

More than Iran's enemies need artillery, guns and so forth, they need to spread their anti-culture that leads to moral corruption. Instead of bombs, they now send miniskirts and short manteaus. If they arouse sexual desires in any given country, if they spread unrestrained mixing of men and women, and if they lead youth to behavior to which they are naturally inclined by instincts, there will no longer be any need for artillery and guns against that nation.^[16]

Iranian women are not required to wear chadors. Some do so, as wearing it is a claim to respectability and Islamic piety. However, women may also fulfill the government requirements for modest dress by wearing a combination of a headscarf and manteau.

Men are also concerned with veiling. Like women, men are not allowed to exhibit their legs or upper torso. Although wearing ties or bow-ties is not prohibited, since they are considered signs of western influence, they are not acceptable as an official norm. Wearing earrings is prohibited for men.

Music concerts[]

Some concerts have been canceled in Iran because of mixed-gender seating during performance.

Amusement parks[]

In different cities there are amusement parks where men are not allowed to enter.

Sport events[]

Men are not allowed to see women's sport events and vice versa.^[17] Hosein Fekri, an official in spots affairs, in early years of Islamic revolution said: "We will create walls in any place women are doing sports in order to prevent men from watching even if it's a tennis yard".

The 2006 movie Offside is about the prohibition of women from the male-played sport of association football.

In 2019, Iranian authorities finally allowed women to attend a football match in Iran's record 14-0 win against Cambodia.

Hospitals[]

Unsuccessful efforts have been made to run sex segregation in hospitals. Some women-only hospitals were constructed but were not successful. Men are prohibited to study in Obstetrics and Gynecology since Masoud Pezeshkian became Minister of Health and then.

Banks[]

Some Women-only banks were constructed in different cities with women employees. After a period, men comprised most of the customers at these banks.

Ski reserves[]

General Hosein Sajedi-nia said police officers will prevent skiers in Tehran ski reserves from immoral behaviours. Police are involved in enhancing sex segregation between male and female skiers.^[18]

University dormitories[]

All university dormitories are unisex with exception of married students dormitories. Unisex dormitories (for either single or married students) can be male-only or female-only. As an example, Hafez university dormitory is one of the dormitories belonging to male students of University of Tehran while Fatemieh dormitory is one the dormitories belonging to female students of University of Tehran.^[19]

See also[]

• Women's rights movement in Iran
• Women's rights in Iran
• Gender apartheid
• Sex segregation and Islam
• Homosexuality in Iran
• Transgender rights in Iran

References[]

Further reading[]

• Hoodfar, Homa; Sadr, Shadi (2010). "Islamic Politics and Women's Quest for Gender Equality in Iran". Third World Quarterly. 31 (6): 885–903. doi:10.1080/01436597.2010.502717. PMID 20857567. S2CID 14191735.