Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2019, 20 (2): 68-83 | DOI: 10.13060/25706578.2019.20.2.484

The Religious Sexual Education in Post-Revolutionary Iran: Redefining Tamkin and the Control of Sexuality

Nafiseh Sharifi
University of Tehran

This paper looks at the religious discourse of sexuality in post-revolutionary Iran. Based on my ethnographic fieldwork in Tehran, I discuss how in state-sponsored publications and official education traditional religious rules of sexuality such as tamkin are redefined in relation to society’s new demands. I discuss the role played by religious workshops for married couples in justifying Islamic moral codes of behaviour that regulate and control Iranians’ sexual lives.
However, this paper argues that Islamic sex education is changing the perception of sex and female sexuality amongst its young religious audience. Such changes and their effects on women’s sexual lives might not, however, be in accordance with the state’s sexual policies. Consequently, younger of women use religious justifications to learn more about sex and increase their own sexual satisfaction in marriage. I argue that it is important for feminist scholars to highlight the complicated effects of disciplinary discourses in order to understand women’s lives in Muslim societies.

Keywords: Tamkin, religious sex education, Islamic Feminisms

Published: December 30, 2019Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Sharifi, Nafiseh. 2019. "The Religious Sexual Education in Post-Revolutionary Iran: Redefining Tamkin and the Control of Sexuality." Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 20(2):68-83.
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Abu-Lughod, L. (ed.). 1998. Remaking Women: Feminism and Modernity in the Middle East. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Go to original source...
    2. Abu-Lughod, L. 2013. Do Muslim Women Need Saving? Harvard University Press. Go to original source...
    3. Adelkhah, F. 2004. Being Modern in Iran. New York: Columbia University Press.
    4. Afary, J. 2009. Sexual Politics in Modern Iran. New York: Cambridge University Press. Go to original source...
    5. Ahmed, L. 1991. Women and Gender in Islam. New Haven: Yale University Press.
    6. Al-Kulyani, M. I. Y. 1379. Al-Kafi (Volumes 1-6). Translated by: Mohammad Bagher Kamarei. Tehran: Daftar-e Motale'at va Ma'ref Eslami.
    7. Alikhah, F. 2008. 'The Politics of Satellite Television in Iran.' Pp. 94-111 in Semati, M. (ed.). Media, Culture and Society in Iran: Living with Globalization and the Islamic State. New York: Routledge.
    8. Al-Sharmani, M., Rumminger, J. 2015. 'Understanding Qiwamah and Wilayah through Life Stories.' Pp. 219-256 in Mir-Hosseini, Z., Al-Sharmani, M., Rumminger, J. (eds.). Men in Charge? Rethinking Authority in Muslim Legal Tradition. London: Oneworld Publication.
    9. Badran, M. 1995. Feminists, Islam, and Nation: Gender and the Making of Modern Egypt. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Go to original source...
    10. Farnam, F., Pakgohar, M., Mirmohamadali, M., Mahmoodi, M. 2008. 'Effect of Sexual Education on Sexual Health in Iran.' Sex Education, Vol. 8, No. 2: 159-168. Go to original source...
    11. Foucault, M. 1980. Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972-1977. Sussex: The Harvester Press.
    12. Haeri, S. 1989. Law of Desire: Temporary Marriage in Shi'i Iran. New York: Syracuse University Press.
    13. Hoodfar, H., Assadpour, S. 2000. 'The Politics of Population Policy in the Islamic Republic of Iran.' Studies in Family Planning, Vol. 31, No. 1: 19-34. Go to original source...
    14. Hoodfar, H. 2017. 'Turning Back the Clock: Population Policy and Human Right'. Pp. 230- 243 in Chase, A. T. (ed.). Routledge Handbook on Human Rights and the Middle East and North Africa. New York: Routledge.
    15. Khamenei, S. A. 2013. Speech at the National Congress on Changes in the Population and Its Role in Social Changes. [online]. Tehran [cit. 28/10/2013]. Available from: http://farsi.khamenei.ir/speech-content?id=24344.
    16. Mahdavi, P. 2008. Passionate Uprisings: Iran's Sexual Revolution. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
    17. Mahmood, S. 2005. Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
    18. Moaveni, A. 2005. Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America and American in Iran. New York: Public Affairs.
    19. Moghissi, H. 2002. Feminism and Islamic Fundamentalism: The Limits of Postmodern Analysis. London: Zed Books.
    20. Mir-Hosseini, Z. 1999. Islam and Gender. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
    21. Mir-Hosseini, Z. 2002. 'Tamkin: Stories from a Family Court in Iran.' Pp. 136-151 in Bowen, D. L., Evelyn, A. (eds.). Everyday Life in the Muslim Middle East. Indiana University Press.
    22. Mir-Hosseini, Z. 2004. 'Sexuality, Rights and Islam: Competing Gender Discourses in Postrevolutionary Iran'. Pp. 204-218 in Neshat, G., Beck, L. (eds.). Women in Iran from 1800 to the Islamic Republic. Champaign: University of Illinois Press.
    23. Mir-Hosseini, Z. 2010. 'Criminalising Sexuality: Zina Laws as Violence Against Women in Muslim Contexts.' Pp. 19-49 in Mir-Hosseini, Z., Hamzic, V. (ed.). Control and Sexuality: The Revival of Zina Laws in Muslim Contexts. London: Women Living Under Muslim Laws.
    24. Najmabadi, A. 1998. 'Crafting and Educated Housewife in Iran.' Pp. 91-126 in Abu- -Lughod, L. (ed.). Remaking Women: Feminism and Modernity in the Middle East. Oxford: Princeton University Press. Go to original source...
    25. Sabbah, F. A. 1984. Woman in the Muslim Unconscious. New York: Pergamon Press.
    26. Salamat News. 2016. The State Policies to Increase the Population. [online]. Tehran [cit. 24/05/2016]. Available from: http://bit.do/eQW52.
    27. Shahidian, H. 2008. 'Contesting Discourses of Sexuality in Post-Revolutionary Iran.' Pp. 101-139 in Ilkkaracan, P. (ed.). Deconstructing Sexuality in the Middle East. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Go to original source...
    28. Sreberny, A., Khiabany, G. 2010. Blogistan: The Internet and Politics in Iran. London: I. B. Tauris. Go to original source...
    29. Sharifi, N. 2018. Female Bodies and Sexuality in Iran and the Search For Defiance. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Go to original source...
    30. Tizro, Z. 2013. Domestic Violence in Iran: Women, Marriage and Islam. London: Routledge. Go to original source...
    31. Varzi, R. 2006. Warring Souls: Youth, Media, and Martyrdom in Post- Revolution Iran. Durham: Duke University Press. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content