A Women’s Rights Research Seminar (WRRS) with Dr Nafiseh Sharifi, Research Fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter. Dr Nafiseh Sharifi is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, and earned her PhD from SOAS, University of London. Her work on gender and sexuality in Iran is detailed in her book ‘Female Bodies and Sexualities in Iran and the Search for Defiance’, grounded in extensive ethnographic research conducted with two generations of Iranian women in Tehran.

Her current work expands on these themes by examining shifting masculinities, cultural norms, and sexual attitudes among Tehran’s 1990s generation, drawing on in-depth discussions with both men and women. Dr Sharifi’s research offers insights into the complex gender dynamics within Iranian society and makes a significant contribution to academic debates on gender and sexuality in Iran and the Middle East.

Chaired by Dr Maryam Alemzadeh, Fellow at the Middle East Centre.