In Praise of Peace: A Journalist’s Account from a Bombarded Tehran/ Hossein Yazdi

War—this word has become entangled with our lives in the Middle East, as though the region has no other identity without it. At the time of my birth, the 1979 Revolution had just happened, and by the time I entered elementary school, I was fully experiencing war—red sirens and teachers who would take us under […]...

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Taxing Nazri Food: An Efficient Strategy for Reducing Energy Waste or an Inappropriate Measure? / Parvaneh Ahmadi

Mourning ceremonies and Nazri offerings are an inseparable part of the religious and social culture in certain communities, particularly in Iran. In these occasions, the long-standing tradition of preparing and distributing food as Nazri takes on a prominent role. These offerings, beyond their spiritual and religious aspects, are widely distributed among the general public, the […]...

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Mahr: A Guarantee of Women’s Rights or a Tool for Reproducing Gender Inequality?/ Alireza Goodarzi

Mahr can be understood within the broader context of tradition: it has come down to us from a distant past and represents a period that may not necessarily align with the needs of our present. I put forth this claim on the basis of questions that have been persistently asked within our society for many […]...

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“My Mehr Is Yours, My Life Is Free”: From Slogan to Official Policy/ Mousa Barzin

In recent years, mahrieh (marital dowry) has become a topic of contention and dispute both in Iranian society and within the domains of policymaking and legislation. The culturally widespread trend of setting exorbitant mahrieh amounts has led lawmakers and the Iranian judiciary to pursue policies aimed at reducing legal and judicial support for mahrieh. However, […]...

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Legal Analysis of the New Proposal to Cap Dowry at Fourteen Gold Coins/ Sina Yousefi

In recent years, the issue of dowry-related imprisonment has become one of the significant challenges facing Iran’s legal and judicial system. On one hand, it concerns the rights and human dignity of men indebted for dowries; on the other hand, within the framework of Iran’s family law, dowry has become the only effective tool for […]...

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Why Superficial Reforms to the Dowry Law Are Ineffective/ Mohammad Hadi Jafarpour

Contrary to the belief that the challenges of dowry can be resolved merely by amending the Law on Financial Convictions, one of the most important and thought-provoking points in reforming family law is the necessity to consider religious matters and the codified rules outlined in the Book of Marriage. Despite the pressing need to adapt […]...

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From Profiteers to Victims of Dowry: Law, Poverty, Culture, and Media/ Mahtab Alinezhad

What is a dowry? In Islamic culture and jurisprudence, a dowry is property that the husband commits to the wife at the time of concluding a marriage contract, which he must pay her upon her demand. This property can be cash, coins, gold, real estate, or even non-material items like Quranic education or arranging a […]...

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From Gold Coins to Real Estate Titles: Dowry as a Mirror of Economic Transformations and Class Divides in Iran/ Morteza Hamounian

One person’s dowry is only “14 coins,” and another’s is “over one thousand and three hundred coins” (which corresponds to the bride’s age). The amount of this dowry also fluctuates each time. Dowry is supposed to be a sadaq and a symbol of affection and love, but like the price of housing and cars, it […]...

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Women, Dowry, and the Law: A Cycle of Injustice/ Elahe Amani

The proposed bill in Iran’s parliament in the year 1404 (2025) for reforming the dowry law has sparked widespread debate among legal experts and women’s rights activists. While the parliament’s goal is to reduce legal cases and the number of dowry-related prisoners, many feminists and advocates of women’s rights believe that such proposals do not […]...

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Stopping as Protest: The Political Practice of Truck Drivers on the Margins of Iran’s Formal System/ Mina Javani

In recent decades, strikes—as one of the main forms of collective action in contemporary societies—have become more than merely a professional response. They have transformed into powerful tools for expressing demands in contexts where institutionalized and formal participation is limited or blocked. In Iran, too—where structures for labor and trade union organization face legal, political, […]...

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