''Zanan'' () was a monthly

women's magazine This is a list of women's magazines from around the world. These are magazines that have been published primarily for a readership of woman, women. Currently published *''10 Magazine (UK), 10 Magazine'' (UK – distributed worldwide) *''Al Jam ...

published in Iran. It was the only Persian women's magazine in the country. The magazine ceased publication in 2008, but was relaunched on 29 May 2014. In September 2014, its founder and editor

Shahla Sherkat Shahla Sherkat (born March 30, 1956) is an Iranian journalist, publisher, author, feminist, and women's rights activist. She is a prominent Persian feminist author and one of the pioneers of Women's rights movement in Iran. Biography Sherkat ...

was charged in Iran's Press Court (part of the

Islamic Revolutionary Court Islamic Revolutionary Court (), also known as the Revolutionary Tribunal (''Dadgahha-e Enqelab''Bakhash, Shaul, ''Reign of the Ayatollahs'', Basic Books, 1984, p.59-61) is a special system of courts in the Islamic Republic of Iran designed to try ...

) for promoting un-Islamic and "obsolete" views and in April 2015, publication of the magazine was again suspended. It promoted women's rights for 16 years and had a total of 152 issues.

History

''Zanan'' was established by Sherkat in 1992 as a monthly magazine. ''Zanan'' focused on the concerns of Iranian women with an Islamic point of view and had intentions of protecting and promoting their rights. However, the monthly magazine tested the political waters with its edgy coverage of reform politics, domestic abuse, and sex. Article topics covered controversial issues from

domestic abuse Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

to plastic surgery. It argued that gender equality was Islamic and that religious literature had been misread and misappropriated by misogynists.

Mehangiz Kar Mehrangiz Kar (; born 10 October 1944 Ahvaz, Iran), a human rights lawyer from Iran, is an internationally recognized writer, speaker and activist who advocates for the defense of women’s and human rights in Iran and throughout the Islamic worl ...

Shahla Lahiji Shahla Lahiji (24 April 1942 – 8 January 2024) was an Iranian writer, publisher, translator, women's rights activist, and the director of Roshangaran, a publishing house on women's issues. Biography Lahiji completed a degree in sociology at the ...

, and

, the editors of ''Zanan'', led the debate on women's rights and demanded reforms. The leadership did not respond but, for the first time since the revolution, did not silence the movement. One of the major contributors was Hojjat ol-Eslam Seyyed Mohsen Saidzadeh. In January 2008 the Iranian regime under President

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...

closed the magazine down for "endangering the spiritual, mental and intellectual health of its readers, and threatening psychological security of the society" claiming it showed women in a "black light."Shutting Down Zanan
''The New York Times'' 7 February 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2008.

Relaunch and suspension

In June 2014, ''Zanan'' was relaunched by its original founder. The magazine was renamed '' Zanan-e Emruz'' (''Today's women'') with both printed and online editions. In September, 2014, Sherkat was charged with publishing pictures of women "considered as objects" - a violation of the censorship laws. The magazine itself was suspended in early 2015 after publishing its 10th issue. Iran's Press Oversight Committee stated that the magazine's content was "against public chastity, based on Article 6, Item 2 of the Press Law." The charges against Sherkat and the magazine's suspension were related to publication of a special issue discussing various aspects of cohabitation, dubbed "white marriage" in Iran - a practice that

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure as Supreme Leader, ...

has denounced. The special issue had been picked up by international press and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

published an article on the ''Zanans coverage and the practice itself.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zanan magazine 1992 establishments in Iran 2015 disestablishments in Iran Defunct magazines published in Iran Feminist magazines published in Iran Magazines established in 1992 Magazines disestablished in 2008 Magazines established in 2014 Magazines disestablished in 2015 Monthly magazines published in Iran Defunct Persian-language magazines Defunct feminist magazines

History

Relaunch and suspension

See also

References