The issue of veiling: Cultural conflict and political and security action

Mirzaei, Ezzatullah; Keshavarz Moghadam, Elham

The issue of veiling: Cultural conflict and political and security action

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Ph.D. in Cultural Sociology and Assistant Professor in the Department of Cooperation and Social Welfare of Allameh Tabatabai University

² Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Tehran

Abstract

The current research was conducted with the aim of studying the problem of veiling in Iranian society; For this purpose, whether veiling is considered a cultural demand or it was considered as a political action. Qualitative research method based on contextual theorizing and using semi-structured interview technique, 20 professors (14 men and 6 women) of social sciences and future studies from Tehran, Allameh Tabatabai and Shahid Beheshti universities were interviewed as an elite society. The sampling method was purposeful and based on theoretical saturation. The text of the interviews was coded using 10MAXQDA software. The results showed that the cultural conflict and political and security problem as the core category of the research of not wearing a hijab in Iran is manifested in two forms: not accepting the hijab as a legal duty and the formation of protest in the form of civil disobedience in the form of normalizing abnormal clothing. Also, categories such as the gradual change of the discourse space of the women's society in order to increase the scientific benefit and shape social movements, the dimming of women's space-places and the centralization of the street space-place to the arena of female activism and the accompanying model authority in the form of celebrities in believing in the phenomenon of veiling The cultural conflict factors of the society were identified, and in the face of them, solutions such as activating the mechanism and methods of deterring modesty and non-hijab from the path of strengthening the family foundation, avoiding the dichotomy of Sharia discourse - legal obligation, cultural-political pluralism of lifestyle in accordance with the rules of the system and Adoption of appropriate policies in private and non-private business environments was presented through providing specific guidelines related to the type of coverage in business environments and strengthening persuasive discourse. According to the results of the research, in order to prevent civil disobedience to political action, simultaneous attention to the two cultural and political dimensions of the hijab is suggested as a twin.

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