Christiane Campbell                                                                                                        12/17/19               

CUNY CCNY | Prof. Michael “Mike” Druffel 

Final Reflection

        Over the course of the first semester of the 2019-2020 school year, I learned how to compose a research question, research information through databases (especially college databases), and establish authority in my writing.

To begin with, a lot of thought goes into coming up with a research question. One thing crucial to coming up with a research question is specificity. A research question that is specific is important because it is easier to focus on a specific problem within an overarching issue rather than the overarching issue itself. It also helps in  preventing the writer from deviating from the topic. “What are the effects of the 2019 space alien terrorist attacks on the mental health of Hungary’s youth ages 16-24?” is a much stronger question than “What are the effects on the mental health of Hungary’s youth after terrorist attacks?”. The former question has a substantial amount more of specificity in it than the latter question because it includes a time period and a specific demographic within the general demographic. 

Secondly, I learned how to use college databases to come across resources such as peer reviewed articles to use in support of answering my question. The database that I used the majority of the time for my research was CCNY’s online library database. The “Advanced Search” aspect of this resource was especially helpful since I could narrow down exactly what I was looking for with its two-lines-of-keywords system. The first line of the “Advanced Search” feature says, “Any field” and “contains”; the second line says, “AND”, “any field”, and “contains”; these terms of both lines are interchangeable with key words such as “Title”, “or”, “not”, and more. For example, if I wanted to research the effects of turmeric-based seasonings on the kidneys of Iranian citizens I can type “Tumeric-based seasoning” in the first line and “Iranians’ kidneys” in the second line. You can also add more lines if you want.

Lastly, I learned how to establish authority in my writing. One way to establish authority in writing is by coining a term. For example, if you wanted to discuss the new trend of millenials eating avocado toast you can invent the term “Avocado Era”. Coining a term establishes authority because it implies that you are well enough educated on the subject to be able to go as far as making a new term in relation to it. Another way to establish authority in writing is by discrediting the argument of someone else who discussed the same topic you’re discussing too. For instance, take the topic of the lack of time management skills among Generation Z. If one person said that Gen Z lacks time management skills because they are lazy bums, you can discredit that with a different argument that argues that Gen Z lacks time management skills because they are addicted to social media and that addiction causes them to not prioritize the other tasks they need to do. Another, more basic way, to establish authority in your writing is by stating your titles and/or accomplishments within your field. For example, if the topic is the relationship between students’ emotional disabilities and their performance in school, you can establish your authority by saying you’ve been a teacher for thirty five years.

In conclusion, I’ve learned a lot over the semester about writing. Some of the things I’ve learned are how to compose a research question, utilize databases, and establish authority in my writing. These skills are important because it makes you a stronger writer in the fact that it structures and builds any argument that you’re making.

The Need of Sexual Health Education, Especially for Young Women, is being Sorely Overlooked in Iran                                                                          11/19/19
by Christiane Campbell

1. Introduction

---

Iran has undergone many political changes throughout history, but especially in women’s gender and politics. At the turn of the 20th century, Iranian women were veiled; from 1936 to 1979 (under the Pahlavi dynasty), Iranian women were unveiled; finally, after the Revolution of 1979, when the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) came into power, Iranian women were reveiled. These events signified the imposed constraints of women’s sexuality and submissive role in a patriarchal society, the lifting of those constraints, and the reimposing of them (but to a lesser extent than at the turn of the 20th century) after 1979, respectively. Although women’s gender and politics is an increasingly popular subject of discussion in Iran, one aspect is sorely overlooked: the sexuality, more specifically the sexual health, of Iran’s young women and how film can be used as a tool for sexual education.

1. Statistics and Mothers’ Views on Sexual Health Education for Young Girls

---

According to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education report in 2012, over 33% of people testing HIV positive got infected through unprotected sex, while “from 1979 to 2011, this number was only 12%” (Journal of Religion and Film, Vol. 19, pg 16). Not only that, but according to a 2015 survey, 33% of boys and 27% of girls under the age of 18 have engaged in sexual relations. This is representative of a sexual revolution in Iran and consequently brings a new urgency to educate Iranian youth, especially young women, on sexual health. However, the traditional concepts and social norms of Iranian society make it taboo to discuss sexual health. This makes premarital sexual activity clandestine, stimulating the increase of sexual diseases and unwanted pregnancies. 

Another aspect of Iranian girl’s sexual health worth mentioning is their mothers, as they play a critical role in educating young girls about their sexual health. Specifically worth mentioning is that a lot of Iranian mothers are a barrier to their young girls acquiring knowledge on the topic of sexual health. One of the reasons they can be a barrier to their girls gaining sexual knowledge is that they, too, believe in the taboo of discussing sexual health, as mentioned in the previous paragraph. In a study on mothers’ views on sexual health education for their young daughters, light was shed upon how they felt about it and what prevented them from discussing such topics with their daughter. One mother expressed shame and embarrassment about discussing sexual health with her daughter, saying, “I am ashamed to say something about such issues to my daughter. My daughter also does not ask me because she does not feel comfortable with me.” Other mothers do not wish to discuss sexual health with their daughters because they fear it will influence their daughters to engage in sexual relations by stimulating curiousity and temptation in regard to sex. Another mother said, “If girls permit to know about contraception, they may do anything wrong out of their family sight. If they know what to do, nothing bad may happen and the family may never notice.” Some mothers do not know how to communicate to their daughters about this topic and some just outright feel that sexual health education is not a necessity. Although, some mothers do support sexual health education, expressing a desire to be educated on this topic, especially since many of them feel they lack the knowledge to discuss such topics with their daughters. 

1. Sexual Health Promotion and the Importance of Film in Such Endeavor

---

However, not all hope is lost. Sexual health is increasingly being discussed in Iran. An example of this is the creation of the app Hamdam, which is the first Iranian Persian-language app about sexual health, including contraceptive methods. This allows tens of millions of Iranian women easier access to information concerning sexual health , which is especially critical to poorer Iranian women to whom this information was not previously available. 

If an app has the ability to reach so many women, imagine how much more women can be reached through film. Film is crucial to people’s knowledge on certain topics because media is a primary way that people acquire knowledge and ideas. This is proved through Iran’s history with film. 

After the 1979 Revolution, Iran began to prohibit certain films from reaching the public. The films that were censored were largely Western-influenced films that had sexual scenes in them. In 1979, 1,800 films were denied a permit to be showed to the public; by 1982 that number dramatically decreased to 19 (Tapper, pg 33). But, this was not because more and more films were being approved by the Iranian government for showing, but because they were not even bothering to review nearly as many films as in 1979. As a result, there were less films to deny. Consequently, this contributed to the taboo of women’s sexuality, and inherently, the idea of sexual education. Mention of Iran’s censorship of such films is important because it conveys the extensive power Iran’s government has to keep the general population from certain types of knowledge and in turn the power they have to give the general population certain knowledge if they put as much effort into sexual education as they do censorship. As mentioned before, film could help in the fact that it can be utilized as an informative tool standing on the platform of mass media.  An example of this is the burning of 180 theatres in Iran, leaving only 256 of them still existing. The amount of people that were exposed to new ideas and information before the theatres were burned was likely staggering, which is only a testament to film being important because it reaches many. Another reason film is important is because it can destigmatize women’s sexuality in Iran. With it being strongly preferred for women to wear hijabs to even temporarily marrying a man to be able to interact with them on a movie set if they are acting together, it is very clear that there is a strong wall of stigma encompassing women’s sexuality in Iran. A final reason film is important is that it can inform illiterate women where books, articles, and apps cannot since you do not have to read (in most cases) film in order to understand it since it mainly functions on visuals and sound. Film can be of great assist in eradicating that stigma and maybe even take Iran back to how it was during the Pahlavi dynasty, where Iranian women were not stigmatized as much and had more freedoms as a result.

1. Content that Should be in Sexual Health Promotion Films

---

Finally, after it being explained why sexual education through film is important, it should also be enunciated what these films should look like- specifically what should be included in them. One thing that should be included in sexual education films are information on all types of STDs (Sexually Transmitted Disease) and how they can be transmitted (vaginally, orally, anally). Another thing that should be included are anecdotes from people who have had or still have a STD, especially how they cope with it emotionally and mentally and how and what treatment(s) they receive for it. This can help Iranian women who have recently contracted an STD. Next, other helpful information that should be in these films are contraceptives and how to figure out which one is the best for each female to use (since everybody is different) to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Another kind of information that should be included are what to do in event of an unwanted pregnancy and seeing what options are available. With this information, the rate of contraction of STDs can decrease or even die out since the general population would be much more educated on the subject of sexual health.  Relating back to some of the mother’s sentiments about not being informed enough, a final piece of information that should be included in this film is how to discuss sexual health with your daughters and sons, especially daughters.  

1. Conclusion

---

One can see how crucial film can be to Iran, especially its women, in the realm of sexual education. As an increasing amount of youth are engaging in sexual relations before marriage, it is imperative that they have sufficient knowledge of sexual health so that they can prevent any occurrence of sexual harm unto themselves. Film is a major platform under mass media in which ideas are communicated to and absorbed by the general public, making it an ideal vehicle to transport information of sexual health to Iranian women who need this kind of information to better themselves. The subjects in films of sexual education that should be discussed are STDs, contraceptives, and unwanted pregnancies. Through sexual education in film, women’s sexuality in Iran can be destigmatized and women can lead much healthier sex lives.

1. Bibliography

---

1. Shams, Mohsen. Mothers’ Views about Sexual Health Education for Their Adolescent Daughters: a Qualitative Study. 10 Feb. 2017.

Tapper, Richard. New Iranian Cinema: Politics, Representation and Identity. I.B. Tauris & Co., 2008.

The Need of Sexual Health Education, Especially for Young Women, is being Sorely Overlooked in Iran                                                                          11/19/19
by Christiane Campbell

1. Introduction

---

Iran has undergone many political changes throughout history, but especially in women’s gender and politics. At the turn of the 20th century, Iranian women were veiled; from 1936 to 1979 (under the Pahlavis dynasty), Iranian women were unveiled; finally, after the Revolution of 1979, when the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) came into power, Iranian women were reveiled. These events signified the imposed constraints of women’s sexuality and submissive role in a patriarchal society, the lifting of those constraints, and then the reimposing of them (but to a lesser extent than at the turn of the 20th century) after 1979, respectively. Although women’s gender and politics is an increasingly popular subject of discussion in Iran, one aspect is sorely overlooked: the sexuality, more specifically the sexual health, of Iran’s young women and how film can be used as a tool for sexual education.

1. Statistics and Mothers’ Views on Sexual Health Education for Young Girls

---

According to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education report in 2012, over 33% of people testing HIV positive got infected through unprotected sex, while “from 1979 to 2011, this number was only 12%” (Journal of Religion and Film, Vol. 19, pg 16). Not only that, but according to a 2015 survey, 33% of boys and 27% of girls under the age of 18 have engaged in sexual relations. This is representative of a sexual revolution in Iran and consequently brings a new urgency to educate Iranian youth, especially young women, on sexual health. However, the traditional concepts and social norms of Iranian society make it taboo to discuss sexual health. This makes premarital sexual activity clandestine, stimulating the increase of sexual diseases and unwanted pregnancies. 

Another aspect of Iranian girl’s sexual health worth mentioning is their mothers, as they play a critical role in educating young girls about their sexual health. Specifically worth mentioning is that a lot of Iranian mothers are a barrier to their young girls acquiring knowledge on the topic of sexual health. One of the reasons they can be a barrier to their girls gaining sexual knowledge is that they, too, believe in the taboo of discussing sexual health, as mentioned in the previous paragraph. In a study on mothers’ views on sexual health education for their young daughters, light was shed upon how they felt about it and what prevented them from discussing such topics with their daughter. One mother expressed shame and embarrassment about discussing sexual health with her daughter, saying, “I am ashamed to say something about such issues to my daughter. My daughter also does not ask me because she does not feel comfortable with me.” Other mothers do not wish to discuss sexual health with their daughters because they fear it will influence their daughters to engage in sexual relations by stimulating curiousity and temptation in regard to sex. Another mother said, “If girls permit to know about contraception, they may do anything wrong out of their family sight. If they know what to do, nothing bad may happen and the family may never notice.” Some mothers do not know how to communicate to their daughters about this topic and some just outright feel that sexual health education is not a necessity. Although, some mothers do support sexual health education, expressing a desire to be educated on this topic, especially since many of them feel they lack the knowledge to discuss such topics with their daughters. 

1. Sexual Health Promotion and the Importance of Film in Such Endeavor

---

However, not all hope is lost. Sexual health is increasingly being discussed in Iran. An example of this is the creation of the app Hamdam, which is the first Iranian Persian-language app about sexual health, including contraceptive methods. This allows tens of millions of Iranian women easier access to information concerning sexual health , which is especially critical to poorer Iranian women to whom this information was not previously available. 

If an app has the ability to reach so many women, imagine how much more women can be reached through film. Film is crucial to people’s knowledge on certain topics because media is a primary way that people acquire knowledge and ideas. This is proved through Iran’s history with film. After the 1979 Revolution, Iran began to prohibit certain films from reaching the public. The films that were censored were largely Western-influenced films that had sexual scenes in them. In 1979, 1,800 films were denied a permit to be showed to the public; by 1982 that number dramatically decreased to 19. But, this was not because more and more films were being approved by the Iranian government for showing, but because they were not even bothering to review nearly as many films as in 1979. As a result, there were less films to deny. Consequently, this contributed to the taboo of women’s sexuality, and inherently, the idea of sexual education. Mention of Iran’s censorship of such films is important because it conveys the extensive power Iran’s government has to keep the general population from certain types of knowledge and in turn the power they have to give the general population certain knowledge if they put as much effort into sexual education as they do censorship. As mentioned before, film could help in the fact that it can be utilized as an informative tool standing on the platform of mass media.  An example of this is the burning of 180 theatres in Iran, leaving only 256 of them still existing. The amount of people that were exposed to new ideas and information before the theatres were burned was likely staggering, which is only a testament to film being important because it reaches many. Another reason film is important is because it can destigmatize women’s sexuality in Iran. With it being strongly preferred for women to wear hijabs to even temporarily marrying a man to be able to interact with them on a movie set if they are acting together, it is very clear that there is a strong wall of stigma encompassing women’s sexuality in Iran. A final reason film is important is that it can inform illiterate women where books, articles, and apps cannot since you do not have to read (in most cases) film in order to understand it since it mainly functions on visuals and sound. Film can be of great assist in eradicating that stigma and maybe even take Iran back to how it was during the Pahlavi dynasty, where Iranian women were not stigmatized as much and had more freedoms as a result.

1. Content that Should be in Sexual Health Promotion Films

---

Finally, after it being explained why sexual education through film is important, it should also be enunciated what these films should look like- specifically what should be included in them. One thing that should be included in sexual education films are information on all types of STDs (Sexually Transmitted Disease) and how they can be transmitted (vaginally, orally, anally). Another thing that should be included are anecdotes from people who have had or still have a STD, especially how they cope with it emotionally and mentally and how and what treatment(s) they receive for it. This can help Iranian women who have recently contracted an STD. Next, other helpful information that should be in these films are contraceptives and how to figure out which one is the best for each female to use (since everybody is different) to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Another kind of information that should be included are what to do in event of an unwanted pregnancy and seeing what options are available. With this information, the rate of contraction of STDs can decrease or even die out since the general population would be much more educated on the subject of sexual health.  Relating back to some of the mother’s sentiments about not being informed enough, a final piece of information that should be included in this film is how to discuss sexual health with your daughters and sons, especially daughters.  

1. Conclusion

---

One can see how crucial film can be to Iran, especially its women, in the realm of sexual education. As an increasing amount of youth are engaging in sexual relations before marriage, it is imperative that they have sufficient knowledge of sexual health so that they can prevent any occurrence of sexual harm unto themselves. Film is a major platform under mass media in which ideas are communicated to and absorbed by the general public, making it an ideal vehicle to transport information of sexual health to Iranian women who need this kind of information to better themselves. The subjects in films of sexual education that should be discussed are STDs, contraceptives, and unwanted pregnancies. Through sexual education in film, women’s sexuality in Iran can be destigmatized and women can lead much healthier sex lives.

1. Bibliography

---

1. Shams, Mohsen. Mothers’ Views about Sexual Health Education for Their Adolescent Daughters: a Qualitative Study. 10 Feb. 2017.

Tapper, Richard. New Iranian Cinema: Politics, Representation and Identity. I.B. Tauris & Co., 2008.

The Need of Sexual Education, Especially for Young Women, is being Sorely Overlooked in Iran

Christiane Campbell (FIQWS 10103, Tuesdays)                                                               11/1/19

Iran has undergone many political changes throughout history, but especially in women’s gender and politics. At the turn of the 20th century, Iranian women were veiled; from 1936 to 1979 (under the Pahlavis dynasty), Iranian women were unveiled; finally, after the Revolution of 1979, when the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) came into power, Iranian women were reveiled. These events signified the imposed constraints of women’s sexuality and submissive role in a patriarchal society, the lifting of those constraints, and then the reimposing of them (but to a lesser extent than at the turn of the 20th century) after 1979, respectively. Although women’s gender and politics is an increasingly popular subject of discussion in Iran, one aspect is sorely overlooked: the sexuality, more specifically the sexual health, of Iran’s young women and how film can be used as a tool for sexual education.

Film is crucial to people’s knowledge on certain topics because media is a primary way that people acquire knowledge and ideas. This is proved through Iran’s history with film. After the 1979 Revolution, Iran began to prohibit certain films from reaching the public. Mention of Iran’s censorship of such films is important because it conveys the extensive power Iran’s government has to keep the general population from certain types of knowledge and in turn the power they have to give the general population certain knowledge if they put as much effort into sexual education as they do censorship. Another reason film is important is because it can destigmatize women’s sexuality in Iran. With it being strongly preferred for women to wear hijabs to even temporarily marrying a man to be able to interact with them on a movie set if they are acting together, it is very clear that there is a strong wall of stigma encompassing women’s sexuality in Iran. A final reason film is important is that it can inform illiterate women where books, articles, and apps cannot since you do not have to read (in most cases) film in order to understand it since it mainly functions on visuals and sound. Furthermore, after it being explained why sexual education through film is important, it should also be enunciated what these films should look like- specifically what should be included in them. The subjects in films of sexual education that should be discussed are STDs, contraceptives, and unwanted pregnancies. Unfortunately, due to the remaining stigma of sexual topics in Iran, there are not really any films on sexual health in Iran or any articles about film concerning the sexual health of Iran. 

Finally, the reason I chose the journal “Unmet Needs of Adolescent and Young People’s Sexual and Reproductive Health in Iran” by Farideh Khalajabadi-Farahani is because it pertained to my subject the most out of all the other journals I took a look at. Also, I appreciated the structure of the journal. It first gave a background of the problem, which I likewise did in my introduction. Then, it included factual numbers on the issue, which I also did. Lastly, it gave a solution to the issue, which I also did by proposing films and what should be included in said sexual education videos. Some challenges in completing this publication is that I had to shorten it a lot since there is a 500 word limit. I feel that I would have been able to create a better publication without this constraint. Fortunately, I was still able to mold my publication to the journal.  

ReferencesKhalajabadi-Farahani, Farideh. “Unmet Needs of Adolescent and Young People’s Sexual and Reproductive Health in Iran.” Journal of Reproduction & Infertility, Avicenna Research Institute, 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4508349/.

Christiane Campbell                                                                                                            10/15/19

CUNY CCNY | Professor Michael “Mike” Druffel

Writing About Iranian Cinema: Conference Paper

Iran has undergone many political changes throughout history, but especially in women’s gender and politics. At the turn of the 20th century, Iranian women were veiled; from 1936 to 1979 (under the Pahlavis dynasty), Iranian women were unveiled; finally, after the Revolution of 1979, when the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) came into power, Iranian women were reveiled. These events signified the imposed constraints of women’s sexuality and submissive role in a patriarchal society, the lifting of those constraints, and then the reimposing of them (but to a lesser extent than at the turn of the 20th century) after 1979, respectively. Although women’s gender and politics is an increasingly popular subject of discussion in Iran, one aspect is sorely overlooked: the sexuality, more specifically the sexual health, of Iran’s young women and how film can be used as a tool for sexual education.

According to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education report in 2012, over 33% of people testing HIV positive got infected through unprotected sex, while “from 1979 to 2011, this number was only 12%” (Journal of Religion and Film, Vol. 19, pg 16). Not only that, but according to a 2015 survey, 33% of boys and 27% of girls under the age of 18 have engaged in sexual relations. This is representative of a sexual revolution in Iran and consequently brings a new urgency to educate Iranian youth, especially young women, on sexual health. However, the traditional concepts and social norms of Iranian society make it taboo to discuss sexual health. This makes premarital sexual activity clandestine, stimulating the increase of sexual diseases and unwanted pregnancies. 

However, not all hope is lost. Sexual health is increasingly being discussed in Iran. An example of this is the creation of the app Hamdam, which is the first Iranian Persian-language app about sexual health, including contraceptive methods. This allows tens of millions of Iranian women easier access to information concerning sexual health , which is especially critical to poorer Iranian women to whom this information was not previously available. 

If an app has the ability to reach so many women, imagine how much more women can be reached through film. Film is crucial to people’s knowledge on certain topics because media is a primary way that people acquire knowledge and ideas. This is proved through Iran’s history with film. After the 1979 Revolution, Iran began to prohibit certain films from reaching the public. The films that were censored were largely Western-influenced films that had sexual scenes in them. In 1979, 1,800 films were denied a permit to be showed to the public; by 1982 that number dramatically decreased to 19. But, this was not because more and more films were being approved by the Iranian government for showing, but because they were not even bothering to review nearly as many films as in 1979. As a result, there were less films to deny. Consequently, this contributed to the taboo of women’s sexuality, and inherently, the idea of sexual education. Mention of Iran’s censorship of such films is important because it conveys the extensive power Iran’s government has to keep the general population from certain types of knowledge and in turn the power they have to give the general population certain knowledge if they put as much effort into sexual education as they do censorship. As mentioned before, film could help in the fact that it can be utilized as an informative tool standing on the platform of mass media.  An example of this is the burning of 180 theatres in Iran, leaving only 256 of them still existing. The amount of people that were exposed to new ideas and information before the theatres were burned was likely staggering, which is only a testament to film being important because it reaches many. Another reason film is important is because it can destigmatize women’s sexuality in Iran. With it being strongly preferred for women to wear hijabs to even temporarily marrying a man to be able to interact with them on a movie set if they are acting together, it is very clear that there is a strong wall of stigma encompassing women’s sexuality in Iran. A final reason film is important is that it can inform illiterate women where books, articles, and apps cannot since you do not have to read (in most cases) film in order to understand it since it mainly functions on visuals and sound. Film can be of great assist in eradicating that stigma and maybe even take Iran back to how it was during the Pahlavi dynasty, where Iranian women were not stigmatized as much and had more freedoms as a result.

Finally, after it being explained why sexual education through film is important, it should also be enunciated what these films should look like- specifically what should be included in them. One thing that should be included in sexual education films are information on all types of STDs (Sexually Transmitted Disease) and how they can be transmitted (vaginally, orally, anally). Another thing that should be included are anecdotes from people who have had or still have a STD, especially how they cope with it emotionally and mentally and how and what treatment(s) they receive for it. This can help Iranian women who have recently contracted an STD. Next, other helpful information that should be in these films are contraceptives and how to figure out which one is the best for each female to use (since everybody is different) to prevent unwanted pregnancy. A final piece of information that should be included are what to do in event of an unwanted pregnancy and seeing what options are available. With this information, the rate of contraction of STDs can decrease or even die out since the general population would be much more educated on the subject of sexual health.   

In conclusion, one can see how crucial film can be to Iran, especially its women, in the realm of sexual education. Film is a major platform under mass media in which ideas are communicated to and absorbed by the general public, making it an ideal vehicle to transport information of sexual health to Iranian women. The subjects in films of sexual education that should be discussed are STDs, contraceptives, and unwanted pregnancies. Through sexual education in film, women’s sexuality in Iran can be destigmatized and women can lead much healthier sex lives.

Christiane Campbell                                                                                                              9/24/19

CUNY CCNY | Professor Michael “Mike” Druffel

Conference Paper Proposal: Iranian Cinema, Gender, and Politics

Iran has undergone many political changes throughout history, but especially in women’s gender and politics. At the turn of the 20th century, Iranian women were veiled, which one can consider to represent the imposed constraints of women’s sexuality and submissive role in a patriarchal society. From 1936 to 1979 (under the Pahlavis dynasty), Iranian women were unveiled, which signified the lifted (to an extent) limits of women’s sexuality and a cessation (also to an extent) of a women’s submissive role in society. Finally, after the Revolution of 1979, when the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) came into power, Iranian women were reveiled; this signified the reimposed restrictions of women’s sexuality and submissive role (but not as submissive as at the turn of the 20th century) in Iran’s patriarchal society. Although women’s gender and politics is an increasingly popular subject of discussion in Iran, one aspect is sorely overlooked: the sexuality, more specifically the sexual health, of Iran’s young women. 

According to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education report in 2012, over 33% of people testing HIV positive got infected through unprotected sex, while “from 1979 to 2011, this number was only 12%” (Journal of Religion and Film, Vol. 19, pg 16). This is representative of a sexual revolution in Iran and consequently brings a new urgency to educate Iranian youth, especially young women, on sexual health. However, the traditional concepts and social norms of Iranian society make it taboo to discuss sexual health. This makes premarital sexual activity clandestine, stimulating the increase of sexual diseases. 

In closing, film is crucial to people’s knowledge on certain topics because media is a primary way that people acquire knowledge and ideas. Through Iranian film, the pressing topic of sexual health among Iran’s young women can be explored and discussed and possibly destigmatized.