Incompatible Worlds: Shaping Exclusionary Narratives on Cultural Policies Regarding Women and Youth in Iran

This research looks at the generation of formal narratives in cultural policies regarding women and the youth in Iran. I investigate the social construction of target populations - beneficiaries and losers - (Ingram & Schneider 2017; 2005) in cultural policies, focusing on two categories of policy texts: 1) women's dress code and Hijab and 2) women and the youth lifestyle. In addition, I examine key dynamics and forces that are trying to shape public discussions around these policies. Through a multi-modal analysis of policy documents, secondary analysis of national surveys on Iranian values and attitudes, and interviews with experts and policymakers, the study seeks to explore the contradictions among these policies with the attitudes of women and youth, as well as the consequences of any disparities. The main research question is: How do formal narratives in Iranian cultural policies contribute to the construction of social groups as beneficiaries or losers, and how are these exclusionary narratives shaped? It is argued that however different forces are trying to negotiate and co-construct cultural policies regarding women and youth in Iran, policies make small groups of these social groups receive benefits while the majority receive burdens and are punished as deviants. These contradictory and exclusionary policies, I argue, have been a source of conflicts in the country. This can be observed in the controversies over women's issues and demands, particularly compulsory hijab, during the recent Women, Life, Freedom movement where losers or deviants were mobilised to oppose these policies. The research aims to make theoretical and empirical contributions to the ongoing academic and public discussions on the intersection of cultural policymaking and power struggles in Iran. While this project explores the context of Iran, its findings could shed light on cultural policy debates broadly in Islamic societies, particularly in the Middle East.