Women Studies
Somayehsadat Shafiei; zahra hosseinifar
Abstract
Due to a lack of historical resources in the field of women and gender, women’s journalistic texts are invaluable sources which mirror women’s general conditions, situations, concerns, and demands in different time periods in Iran’s contemporary history. In order to investigate their ...
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Due to a lack of historical resources in the field of women and gender, women’s journalistic texts are invaluable sources which mirror women’s general conditions, situations, concerns, and demands in different time periods in Iran’s contemporary history. In order to investigate their social positions, the obligatory and necessary expectations due to their roles and also their role characteristics – as sociological categories in women’s journalistic texts during the era of modernization in Iran – the present study has examined the well-known and well-established monthly journal of Zaban-e Zanan in the period of the years 1942-1946, coincident with the onset of the second Pahlavi reign. Although the data of a few variables has been collected through a quantitative method, the main method of the study has been qualitative content analysis. The results show that although the writers of the journal had modernist orientations, the social status of women was only defined in the private sphere. The roles of motherhood, wifehood and maidenhood were each accompanied by obligatory expectations and role characteristics which were emphasized by the journal, and motherhood and wifehood were the preferred main roles for women. Furthermore, having these three-dimensional roles during that period, women were required by the sociopolitical conditions of the country to meet expectations such as receiving education and learning skills in line with patriotism and in order to raise men who were worthy and who would protect their homeland.
Somayeh Sadat Shafiei
Abstract
The study of actions of social agents is a part of the social history of Iran that has seldom been studied in detail, while such study is capable of providing valuable information about lifestyle, gender culture, and every day actions of men and women. Thus, with the aim of producing local knowledge ...
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The study of actions of social agents is a part of the social history of Iran that has seldom been studied in detail, while such study is capable of providing valuable information about lifestyle, gender culture, and every day actions of men and women. Thus, with the aim of producing local knowledge for gender and women studies, such investigation sociologically brings about systematic results. Regarding this, the present study focuses on researching documents and theoretical analysis of historical findings from the perspective of gender studies. Document analysis has been extensively employed as a research method for the current study. Over thirty published documents have been examined. Findings of the analysis demonstrate an inclination to superstitious as common beliefs in Qajar era. Employing a functional approach and according to role status, findings of this study indicate a gender difference in upholding such belief. Such inclination in women were expressed in a vast array of acts related to infertility, giving birth, child care, affection, protection against imaginary beings and in men manifested in a range of different acts including improvement in subsistence level, higher yields of lands, abundance of well water and protection against dangers. Moreover, the gender differences among the performers of superstitious and how these beliefs were put into practice is of special note.
