The Absent Presence: Reflections on the Discursive Practice of Veiling

Farahani, Fataneh

doi:10.1007/978-3-663-11622-6_9

Cited by 3 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…He adds that women's dignity is contingent upon observing effat, which, in turn, guarantees the moral health of society (ibid). The word effat in many studies on sexuality is translated as "chastity" (Farahani, 2002;Haeri, 2014;Khosravi, 2008;Milani, 1992;Najmabadi, 1993). On the basis of the definitions provided in Persian dictionaries and scholarly works, this gloss seems to be close to what effat stands for.…”

Section: Definitions Of the Key Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Iran is one of the Muslim countries in the Middle East where Islam is viewed as "the fundamental motivating force behind most aspects of culture, which has its way in practically every act and moment in life" and it is "the greatest determinant of social relationships, particularly the social construction of gender" (Sedghi, 2007, p. 34). Islam enjoins sex segregation (Farahani, 2002;Najmabadi, 1993;Shirazi, 2001), even though Quranic verses assert that men and women, regardless of their sex, are equal before God (Sedghi,ibid,p. 35).…”

Section: Scope Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sex segregation may also originate in the cultural belief that regards sexuality as a dangerous and seductive power, which needs to be socially controlled and contained by rules and prohibitions (Farahani, 2002, p. 105). The psychic and physical segregation of the sexes aims to improve the individual and social value of men and women, prevent moral corruption, create a safe, private space in public for women and protect them from male gaze and sexual harassment, and preserve social equilibrium (Farahani, 2002;Hessini, 1994;Milani, 1992;Shirazi, 2001). Haeri (2014) holds that in Iran and in many other Muslim countries, "the social structure is construed on the principle of sex segregation", implying that "before the forces of nature (e.g., sexual instinct) moral scruples implode" (p. 5).…”

Section: Scope Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To the best of my knowledge neither of the Persian concepts analyzed in this research has been researched in linguistics though they have numerously been referred to in gender studies and in sociological and anthropological literature on sexuality in Iranian culture (Akbari & Tetreault, 2014;Farahani, 2002Farahani, , 2006Hélie & Hoodfar, 2012;Khosravi, 2009;Milani, 1992Milani, , 2011Mir-Hosseini, 2000Naghibi, 1999;Najmabadi, 2000;Rahmani et al, 2015;Ridgeon, 2005;Shahidian, 2002;Tizro, 2013). The first problem in the way of knowing these concepts is the problem of translatability.…”

Section: Definitions Of the Key Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many scholars agree that veiling is much more than an article of clothing. Veiling symbolizes modesty and chastity; it refers to women's comportment and demeanor; it indicates the ways in which people relate to and interact with each other; it is the expression of culturally defined boundaries; it defines one's Muslim identity, serves to challenge stereotypes, and it is a source of liberation for many Muslim women (Afkhami, 1995;Ahmed, 1992;Farahani, 2002;Hessini, 1994;Hoodfar, 2003;Milani, 1992;Williams & Vashi, 2007). Milani (1992) notes that hejab functions not only as a visible barrier between the sexes but also maintains the social order (p. 40).…”

Section: Definitions Of the Key Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cultural model of sexuality in Persian: A cognitive linguistic investigation of key concepts in Iranian culture

Bakhtiar¹

2018

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This research is a cognitive linguistic investigation of the concepts of GHEIRAT 'moral vigilance', HAYA 'self-restraint', EFFAT 'chastity', and HEJAB 'veiling', which comprise the core of control mechanism in Iranian culture. The study aimed to find out whether these moral values are interrelated and examine how cognitive linguistics can contribute to discovering the ways in which they are connected to each other and fulfill their functions in the course of controlling the sexuality of men and women. The study finds that the Persian concepts are interrelated and form a conceptual cluster that operates to regulate the sexuality of Iranians. The interrelationship between the concepts and their systematic functioning was demonstrated through lexical collocates, shared conceptual metaphors, conceptual metonymies, categorization, and embodiment.The analysis reveals that gheirat, haya, effat, and hejab are part of a larger cultural model that operates to keep a legitimate, safe distance between men and women. According to the analysis, the cultural model of sexuality in Persian is founded on and guided by the Islamic principle of mahramiyat 'legitimate intimacy', which pulls together gheirat 'moral vigilance', haya 'self-restraint', effat 'chastity', âberu 'face/public image', nâmus 'female family members', harim 'holy space/border', and hejab 'veiling' in order to keep the sexes segregated.Within the identified model, mahramiyat 'legitimate intimacy' defines the specific category of people toward whom one should maintain a certain physical and social distance.Gheirat surveils the situations in which social interactions take place. It monitors the conducts of individuals, triggering reactions in people to tackle cases of taboo violation through admonishing, criticizing, fighting with, and, in extreme cases, through murdering the perpetrators. Haya 'self-restraint' operates to prevent the self from causing and feeling (further) shame through holding back the self, setting up a barrier between the self and what is considered as taboo, offensive, shameful, and unpleasant. Effat 'chastity' exclusively functions to discipline the body and set limits to bodily desires. It specifically deals with concealing illegitimate sexual desire so as to prevent the person from transgressing norms of conduct. Nâmus 'female family members' represents the heightened significance of women as holders of the family's honor and of their manner of conduct in society. Female family members are also strongly protected by men against social threats, such as sexually charged looks, sexual comments, and rape. Harim 'holy space/border' marks the boundary between cultural values and taboo behavior, assigning a high degree of sanctity to cultural values, and

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Section: Definitions Of the Key Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Scope Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scope Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Definitions Of the Key Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Definitions Of the Key Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Cultural model of sexuality in Persian: A cognitive linguistic investigation of key concepts in Iranian culture

Bakhtiar¹

2018

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The role of context in the formation ofhejab‘veiling’ metaphors inhejabbillboards and posters in Iran

Bakhtiar

2017

MSW

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Proper hejab observance has long been an important issue to political-religious conservatives in Iran who, in recent years, have relied on metaphorical language to persuade Iranian women to dress modestly in public. The present paper, based on Kövecses’s (2015) account of metaphor in context, explores the role of contextual factors involved in the formation of hejab linguistic metaphors used in 56 pro-hejab billboards and posters. Data analysis indicates that the moral and social status of women are depicted as being determined by, or correlated with, their degree of veiling. On that basis, properly covered up women are shown to be the recipients of very positive metaphorical conceptualizations (aspearls,flowers, andangels), whereas immodestly dressed women are negatively pictured as being subject to sexual objectification (asunwrapped edibles). Moreover, thehejab is a protective coveris shown to be the metaphor instantiated in many of the billboards and posters. The protective function of hejab is highlighted by conceptualizing corrupt men asfliesanddevils.Finally, the metaphorical patterns represent the contextual role of political and religious ideology, key cultural concepts, and show entrenched conventional conceptual metaphors and metonymies in the production of novel metaphors.

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A cognitive linguistic view of control mechanism in Iranian culture

Bakhtiar

2019

RCL

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This research deals with the conceptualizations of effat in Persian and seeks to find out how this cultural key concept regulates the sexuality of Iranians. The analysis of the data collected from the Persian newspaper Kayhan indicates that effat is part of a larger cultural model that operates to restrict the sexuality of Iranians and keep the sexes segregated. The analysis demonstrates that effat exclusively functions to discipline the body and set limits to bodily desires. Within the identified cultural model, effat’s main task is to segregate men and women by creating a cover/barrier between them, blocking/concealing the ways through which sexual desire might be aroused. The results show that metaphor is the primary means of representing the functions of effat. The effat is a curtain and effat is a barrier metaphors mark the boundaries between individuals and prohibited areas of the culture. Moreover, metaphors contribute to discovering the relationship between effat and its most related concepts. Metaphorical conceptualizations of effat provide significant evidence as to how embodied experience is informed and constituted by culture. The research also finds that the body bears the imprint of effat. Compared to anthropological accounts, this research provides a more comprehensive image of this concept by simultaneously taking into account the role of bodily, cognitive, social-cultural, and discursive representations in the formation of the cultural model of effat.

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The Absent Presence: Reflections on the Discursive Practice of Veiling

Cited by 3 publications

References 4 publications

Cultural model of sexuality in Persian: A cognitive linguistic investigation of key concepts in Iranian culture

Cultural model of sexuality in Persian: A cognitive linguistic investigation of key concepts in Iranian culture

The role of context in the formation ofhejab‘veiling’ metaphors inhejabbillboards and posters in Iran

A cognitive linguistic view of control mechanism in Iranian culture

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