essay

Temporary marriage: an Islamic discourse on female sexuality in Iran

in the eye of the storm : women in post-revolutionary iran • London • Published In 1994 • Pages: 98-114, 203-207

By: Haeri, Shahla.

Abstract

In this paper, Haeri discusses the fate in the new Islamic Republic of the legal and religiously sanctioned institution of temporary marriage. Shi'ism accommodated male sexuality by permitting such institutions as polygyny, slave concubinage, and temporary marriage. In temporary marriage, a man and woman agree to marry each other for a limited time (one hour to 99 years.) A brideprice may be exchanged. After the prescribed time, the couple may part company without need of a divorce settlement. Any children produced from this union have full legal status and the contract is renewable. Temporary marriage has an ambivalent status in modern times, viewed as either legalized prostitution or a progressive and morally superior counterpart to Western 'free' gender relations. Middle-class women see temporary marriage as degrading. Lower-class divorced women, who are shunned by their natal families, see it as a way to escape the stigma of divorce. The new Islamic regime has attempted to reintroduce temporary marriage along with the veil, the symbol of female chastity. However, in the modern reconfiguration of temporary marriage, female sexuality and desire is recognized along with male sexuality, which some clerics find offensive. According to Haeri, middle-class urban women are hesitant to embrace the autonomy conferred by temporary marriage.

HRAF PubDate

2000

Region

Middle East

Sub Region

Middle East

Document Type

essay

Evaluation

Creator Type

Ethnologist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Ian Skoggard ; 2005

Field Date

1978-1981

Coverage Date

1925-1990

Coverage Place

Iran

Notes

Shahla Haeri

Includes bibliographical references

LCCN

93049077

LCSH

Iranians