“Rousha” gathered all the remaining strength in her numb body and pushed it into her legs. With a heavy kick, she threw her boss off the two-seater couch. She huddled in a corner and screamed, “Uncle! Have you gone mad?” These were just some of the toughest nights in Rousha’s life as a secretary. This is one of the challenges faced by secretaries working in private or government offices in Iran. The immense volume of undefined roles, variable and often long working hours, lack of insurance and job security, must also be added to the verbal and sometimes sexual violence. Just flip through the classifieds section of a newspaper to see the demand for secretaries. Secretarial work is becoming more and more like sales, a contractual job for women and a commodity. “We need a single, well-dressed female secretary with excellent communication skills.” This sentence shows the market for attracting secretaries. Employers no longer need secretaries just for coordinating

I had become alienated from myself.

Parvin, who had studied at a midwifery university, decided to work as a receptionist in a maternity clinic in order to find a good job. She worked at the clinic for three years. At first, it took her some time to get used to the tasks. She had to answer calls from pregnant women and patients at all times. Like other receptionists, she opened and closed the clinic door, kept the environment clean, and managed the schedule. After a while, in addition to managing the schedule, she also launched an Instagram page for the clinic to attract more clients without an increase in salary. It didn’t take long for the page to gain over thirteen thousand followers. Her salary remained the same for almost two years, at one million and eight hundred thousand tomans, without any insurance. Finally, one day, due to the increase in workload and online presence, she requested a higher salary. After some protest, her salary was raised to three million tomans on the

Being a secretary seems to be the lowest paying job.

“Maryam” was hired as a secretary at the office of an English language institute. She was supposed to handle the registration and tuition payment of language learners. Her specific duties were not specified. As time went on, more tasks were assigned to her. These included coming in early and staying late, buying supplies for the institute and personal needs of her female colleagues. This made her feel more secure in the workplace. During the summer, classes sometimes went on until midnight and she had to stay alone in the office. She says, “Three years ago, I was only making 200,000 tomans and I didn’t have any insurance. Whenever I complained to the manager about my heavy workload, he would say, ‘What are you even doing? Opening and closing a door? That’s all it is.'” I didn’t have a university education. Every time I asked for a higher salary, I would hear him say to my colleagues, “Someone like her, without a degree, won

Financial independence at any cost is wrong.

She had just graduated from university. There was no news of a job exam or suitable jobs in her field of study. Banks were also hiring fewer women due to mandatory maternity leave. Sajdeh says that due to her family’s insistence, she decided to become a secretary at a counseling office. She says, “The shift was in the afternoon, for 250,000 tomans without insurance or benefits. The environment was completely safe and quiet. I had no problems with management or clients. The problem started when the counseling center didn’t have enough clients, so I didn’t have enough income to pay my salary.” According to her, she had to do both secretarial work, advertising, and content production in order to increase the number of clients and get paid by the manager. Sajdeh talks about the stress she experienced during those days, saying, “The manager was unaware of what was happening inside the counseling center. He didn’t know that I was organizing all the workshops

Trouble in the shadow of security

Roosha’s story differs from what we have heard from others. She worked as a secretary in the office of someone who was like her uncle. In an environment that, according to her, initially gave off a sense of security, she experienced sexual violence. She says that it didn’t matter to her that she was the only woman in that company. She was happy to be working in an important position with a professional team at the age of twenty. She worked long hours, sometimes staying with her manager, who, according to her, was so familiar with her family that he called her uncle, until the end of meetings and discussions for hours. Her uncle’s house was right across from the office. Sometimes they would go there after work. Sometimes he would drop her off at home. Roosha was often tired from the heavy workload, but she never complained. “One night after a meeting, my uncle asked me to stay and talk about work issues. We closed the office and went

I did not remain silent out of fear of losing my dignity.

Roosha, while being reminded of painful memories, says, “I tried to distance myself from him. I kicked him in the stomach. I pushed him with all my strength from the couch to the floor. Then I stood up and sat on another couch. I started crying. I asked him what happened to you? Do you know what you’re doing? He started expressing affection. He said, “I’ll buy you whatever you want. My second wife and I got to know each other like this. I finally got his consent. I’ll make you happy.” He describes the moment of escaping from the house like this: “I had my hand in my bag. I held the key in my hand so I could defend myself if he attacked me again. My voice couldn’t reach anywhere. No one was around. I stood up and said I want to leave. I don’t know what happened, but he opened the door. He stood in front of the door, trying to

I don’t want to talk about those days.

“Fatima” has not been a secretary. Before her current job, she has worked in several single-sex (male) environments. She refuses to answer my interview request. She does not want to talk about her bitter work experiences. She simply says, “I don’t want to talk about those days.” I understand that what she has gone through in the past has had a negative impact on her psyche that has not yet been healed. I remember from her past conversations that even in formal environments, male colleagues would touch her body under the guise of intellectualism or talk about issues that were offensive. She is not the only woman who does not want to talk about her experiences. Many women prefer to say less about their unpleasant work experiences in order to heal their psychological wounds. Power dynamics are the most important factor to consider in understanding the sociological reasons behind this phenomenon. Secretaries are among the most powerless groups among employees and as a result, their superiors often take advantage of this issue.

Perhaps it is time for women to remove the veil of violence, both visible and hidden, in their workplace. Perhaps shedding light on the lack of respect and invasion of women’s privacy in various professions will lead to the few protective laws for women’s rights in the country to be put into action.