Persian Family Perspectives

Family Structure
● The family is the most important element of Iranian culture and is defined in the Constitution as the
fundamental unit of society.
● Being a collectivist culture, Iranians exhibit strong loyalty to all of their family members.
● Polygamy is allowed in Iran due to Shiite marriage law; however, many Iranians frown on this form of
practice. One true or “pure” love is critical to find and keep throughout an Iranian’s lifetime.
● Divorce is strongly discouraged in Persian culture.
● Adapted from Western culture, family planning education has been shaping decreased family sizes,
fertility rates, and new socio-political viewpoints on how young adults view marriage and the structure
and dynamics of the family.

**Family roles and dynamics in Persian culture shift from household to household due to more
progressive views of women’s rights, authority, and privacy. Listed below are general representations
of elders, males, females, and children.**

View of Elders
● Respected and cared for across most households
● Moves into the house of one of their children if his or her husband or wife passes away

View of Males View of Females

● Labeled as the head of the household
● Makes the executive decision for the whole
household
● Controls all legal and financial responsibility
● Supports the women of his family
● Expects obedience and respect from others
● Exhibits an authoritative parenting style to his
children
● Limited to power other than in the family’s
domestic space
● Acts on extreme restrictions placed on Iranian
females, such as:
○ Public involvement, moral code of
dress, and freedom of expression
● Has access to higher education opportunities
○ According to Nation Master, females
made up over 60% of the overall
Iranian student body in 2012

View of Children
● Tends to only have one to two children in a family
● Birth of boys is generally more desired than birth of girls
● Permits more opportunities for boys to be involved in the public sphere compared to girls
● Allows education and development opportunities for girls to grow into future domestic roles
● Taught early about the importance of the protection of family honor
● Exhibits higher self-efficacy if father has a highly authoritative parenting style
● Enforced separate gender schools throughout the country of Iran

Views of the LGBTQ Community

● Gay, lesbian, and bisexual Iranians are forced to hide their sexual orientation to avoid arrest,
harrassment, or even execution
● For men, homosexuality is punishable by death under Islamic crinimal law
● For women, homosexuality is punishable with 100 lashes
● Transgender people have an uncommon position in Iran society
 References

International Society for Human Rights. (n.d.). ​Overview: LGBT People in Iran. ​Retrieved from

http://www.ishr.org/countries/islamic-republic-of-iran/homophobia/overview-lgbt-people-in-iran/

​ etrieved from
United Against Nuclear Iran. (n.d.). ​Persecution of LGBT Iran. R

https://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/persecution-of-lgbt-iranians
​ etrieved from
Cultural Alas. ​Iranian Culture - Family. R

https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/iranian-culture/family-f72c2a4e-ffa9-42a7-b918-7445f1d9d6d9
Keshavarz, S. & Mounts, N. (2016). Perceived parenting style of fathers and Iranian adolescents’ self-efficacy:
the moderating role of gender and education. ​Journal of Genetic Psychology, 178 ​(5), 281-290. DOI:
10.1080/00221325.2017.1355772