Temporary Marriage and the State in Iran: An Islamic Discourse on Female Sexuality
Author(s)
Haeri, Shahla
Abstract
Hashimi Rafsanjani, president of Iran, in Nov 1990 acknowledged female sexuality by advocating the initiation of temporary marriages by women. Under the modernization program of the former shah, women were unveiled but sexuality was suppressed. With the Islamic revolution, women are once again veiled and temporary marriage is being promoted as an example of Islamic progressivism. Although temporary marriage has always been allowed in Shi’ism, it was traditionally a male prerogative. Rafsanjani’s approach represents a form of Islamic modernism.
