Prostitution is illegal inIran, and incurs various punishments ranging from fines and jail terms to execution for repeat offenders.[1]
The exact number of prostitutes working in Iran is unknown, but in 2017 it was estimated that there were 228,700 prostitutes in Iran and that the number was on the rise.[2]
Leather boots are widely used by Iranian prostitutes forfindom and better control over men. Iranian men have accepted boots as a symbol of women's power. A report in 2020 showed a high number of men donated a large portion of their income to Iranian girls wearing boots.[3][4][5]
Historically, prostitution in Persia was connected to the history ofslavery in Iran. Since the principle ofconcubinage in Islam inIslamic Law allowed a man to have intercourse with his female slave, prostitution was practiced by apimp selling his female slave on the slave market to a client, who was allowed to have intercourse with her as her new owner, and who after intercourse returned his ownership of her to her pimp on the pretext of discontent, which was a legal and accepted method for prostitution in the Islamic world.[6] During the reign ofNassredin Shah (r. 1848–1896), Vali Khan described female prostitutes, termedfavahesh, and male prostitutes calledamrads.[7] Brothels are mentioned but it was more common for prostitutes to meet clients on an individual basis, and male prostitutes often med their male clients in coffee houses and bath houses, and were sometimes supported in a permanent basis by a client.[8]Brothels were sometimes accepted and taxed by the authorities; brothels for male prostitutes were calledamrad khaneh.[8]
In the 1920s,Reza Shah (r. 1925–1941) confined prostitution to separate neighborhoods, such asShahr-e No inTehran, a system which remained until theIranian Revolution in 1979.[9]
The new religious government demolished the prostitution district and punished prostitution with lashing.[10] Establishing brothels is also a criminal act, subject to 1–10 years imprisonment, if not subject to death sentence.[11]
After the1979 revolution, Prostitutes are visible on street corners of themajor cities. Many of them are runaways from poor and broken homes.[12][13]
From the 1990s,Dubai became famous in theUnited Arab Emirates as a place for the sex trade of Iranian women, but it was from the late 2000s that other countries neighboring Iran, includingTurkey,Georgia, andIraqi Kurdistan, had a high number of Iranian female prostitutes hosted. After this, Iranian women quickly became more popular throughoutthe region for prostitution. The income of Iranian prostitutes in neighboring countries is considered high but risky.[14]
In 2002, the moderate Iranian newspaperEntekhab estimated that there were close to 85,000 prostitutes inTehran alone.[15] Prostitution is rampant in Tehran; "the streets are full of working girls ... part of the landscape, blending in with everything else."[16]
In 2008, GeneralReza Zarei, the Tehran police chief, was arrested in a brothel with six prostitutes.[17] His arrest caused embarrassment for the government ofPresident Ahmadinejad because Zarei was in charge ofvice in Tehran.[17] The prosecutor in the case remarked that Zarei exploited his office to profit materially from prostitution.[17]
In the 2010s, The "white skin" of Iranian women and the "large size of their hips" became famous in the Middle East and later became an internetmeme.[14][5]
According to Farahnaz Salimi, head of Aaftaab Society, an NGO for social damages controlling and prevention, there are about 10,000 female sex workers in Tehran. Among these sex workers, there are married women or female clerks, too. According to her reports, the average price of having sex with sex workers is 600,000 rials (60,000 tomans which is about US$14.28). The price can be as high as some hundred thousand tomans (= some million rials) for a night. The lowest price is 50,000 rials (= 5,000 tomans).[18][19] (Price information is based on currency exchange rates of spring 2016).
In 2017 it was estimated that there were 228,700 prostitutes in Iran and that the number was on the rise.[2]
Another report in 2021, said prostitution in Iran became more widespread using the Internet and some websites listed millions of women from all over Iran.[5][20]
While prostitution is illegal in Iran, the Shiah institution ofNikah mut'ah (temporary marriage, usually calledSigheh in Iran) allows contractual short-term relations between the sexes. Usually, adowry is given to the temporary wife. Sigheh can last from 3 days to 99 years (although some Islamic scholars (mujtahids), say that it is impossible to marry a person, as temporary marriage, for a period of time that is longer than the average life-time of a person);[21] it expires automatically withoutdivorce. According to a number of scholars andIranians, Sigheh is being misused as a legal cover for prostitution in Iran.[22][23] Religious people argue that Islamic temporary marriage is different from prostitution for a couple of reasons, including the necessity ofiddah in case the couple have sexual intercourse. It means that if a woman marries a man in this way and has sex, she has to wait for a certain period of time before marrying again and therefore, a woman cannot marry more than a limited number of times in a year.[24][25][26][27][28][29] It has been reported that the number of temporary marriages entered into is on the increase.[30]
On 15 July 2016,Ali Akbar Sayyari, the healthcare affairs' Deputy Minister of theMinistry of Health and Medical Education of Iran, informed the public about improving and/or establishing (depending on the area and place in the country) 'drop-in centers' and 'voluntary counseling and testing' centers for the female sex workers. These centers provide disease prevention tools and examine the sex workers forSTDs. They also provide counselling.[31]
Iran is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected tosex trafficking. Organized groups reportedly subject Iranian women, boys, and girls to sex trafficking in Iran,Afghanistan, theIraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR),Pakistan,United Arab Emirates (UAE), andEurope. Some Iranian women, who seek employment to support their families in Iran, are vulnerable to sex trafficking. Iranian girls between the ages of 13 and 17 are targeted by traffickers for sale abroad; younger girls may be forced into domestic service until their traffickers consider them old enough to be subjected tochild sex trafficking. In 2016, there was a reported increase in young Iranian women in prostitution inDubai; some of these women may be trafficking victims. From 2009 to 2015, the transport of girls from and through Iran en route to other Persian Gulf states for sexual exploitation reportedly increased. Iranian girls were subjected to sex trafficking in brothels in the IKR, especiallySulaimaniya; in some cases this exploitation was facilitated by Iranian trafficking networks. In 2015, the media reportedKurdistan Regional Government officials were among the clients of these brothels. In Tehran,Tabriz, andAstara, the number of teenage girls exploited in sex trafficking reportedly continues to increase. Afghan migrants and refugees, including children, are highly vulnerable to sex trafficking.[30]
In 2007, theUnited States State Department placed Iran as a "Tier 2" in its annual Trafficking in Persons reports, stating that "it does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so".[32] In 2010,U.S. Secretary of StateHillary Clinton downgraded Iran to "Tier 3", noting that the country makes no significant effort to solve trafficking problems, mainly in relation to prostitution and forced labor.[33]
Chinese, Thai, and other foreign women are forced to engage in prostitution under the acquiescence of religious leaders in Iran.[34]
Tehran Taboo,[35] and a number of new works pictured the prostitution in Iran.
The novel "Parrot" written byZakaria Hashemi, the series of photos byKaveh Golestan and the movie "Castle" byKamran Shirdel also mentioned and pictured the prostitution in the country.[36]
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