“Men’s Power can be Overridden by Women’s Sexual Power”: Married Women’s Talk About Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Iran

Social and cultural contexts, as well as religious ideology, shape sexual knowledge and beliefs. At present, the Islamic Republic of Iran is going through social and cultural shifts with regards to sexuality. Yet, very little is known about the contours of these shifts. This paper reports on a qualitative study that explored the sexual beliefs of 15 young Iranian women (aged 23–33), in Tehran and Qom. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Four themes were identified as encapsulating the women’s ideas, experiences and beliefs about their sexual lives: (1) sexuality as a cultural and religious behaviour; (2) conservative sexual beliefs; (3) sexual objectification versus sexual power; and (4) the importance of sex within marriage. These findings are discussed in relation to recent shifts in sexual mores in the Middle-East/Iran and their implications for identity, relationality and practice.