Love in Iran

سلام,

 Traditionally in Iran people of different sexes are not allowed to be together freely in public.  Women have many restrictions about the dress code in public and around men.  Women have to conceal their faces because they are not allowed to “attract mates.”  Some of the rules about dating and relationships are implicated by the government.

Authorities push a very conservative approach to relationships and look down upon unmarried romantic relationships and encourage traditional match-making, arranged marriages.  Because of the strong traditions wove into the Iranian culture young people believe that if they reject the traditions with short-term relationships, they harm their dignity and those of their family. 

Prospective couples have three different meetings before a relationship can be formed.  The first two meetings are strictly supervised from within the same room where the couple is.  The third and last meeting is a brief get-together that is on the couples own time with just the two of them.  After these series of meetings the couple can either choose to marry each other, or agree to never see each other again.  These meetings are still used today among rural and traditional Iranians to find a partner.  The tradition of the three meetings has recently been showing up in some modern films by Leila Lak, an Iranian filmmaker.

The Iranian government condemns dating and relationships, but it promotes marriage that is accompanied with online courses and courtship classes.   During the classes the couple earns a diploma after taking weekly tests and spending hours educating themselves on the “correct courtship.”  The people of Iran really respect tradition and authority so they tend to keep the customs of the country. 

Today in Iran, there is a large population of young adults under the age of 30.  Many of them are looking towards modern forms of love, but still keep a lot of the traditions just modify it to fit the times.  Marriage is taken very seriously and couples often stay together their whole lives.  Marriages have a level of respect and responsibility that is portrayed throughout their long loving relationship.

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