In a country where unmarried people could be punished for having sęx or even dating and holding hands, it really blows our minds to think that arranged marriages for the purpose of intimacy are allowed.
Some have even described Iran’s ‘temporary marriage’ or ‘pleasure marriage’ system as consensual sęx wrapped in religion. This ‘pleasure marriage’ system in Iran is something foreign to the Western world.
The practice is known as an Al-mut’ah marriage and it is practised by the people who follow Twelver Shia Islam. Essentially, a man and a woman get into a verbal or written agreement to get married, and a dowry amount is also decided at the same time.
This marriage is not legally binding and it can come to an end at any point in time. An unmarried woman can consent to more than one Al-mut’ah marriage.
However, only after she experiences two menstrual cycles will she be eligible for a second marriage. In this marriage system, men benefit greatly since they can have sęx with a lady without making any commitments to the marriage bond.
And the woman, in turn, is usually helped financially. This makes it sound like a ‘payment for sęx’ kind of arrangement. This arrangement has been greatly exploited by foreign tourists.
There have been news reports about the emergence of “chastity houses,” particularly in holy cities, and their increasing popularity with male foreign tourists visiting Iran.
Though they are yet to become legal, these chastity houses are religiously sanctioned establishments that enable couples to engage in intimate relationships by performing sigheh (temporary marriage).
The practice of sigheh enables many married men to enter temporary marriages with women other than their wives and also allows for the establishment of chastity houses.
People who engage in this practice include married men who look for an extramarital relationship, female sęx workers who wish to avoid arrest and imprisonment, brainwashed religious women who think that they are performing a charitable act by doing it, and poor widows and divorcees who find sigheh as a way of supporting their children.
