Negotiating a position : women musicians and dancers in post-revolution Iran

This research examines the changes in conditions of music and dance after the 1979 revolution in Iran. My focus is the restrictions imposed on women instrumentalists, dancers and singers and the ways that have confronted them. I study the social, religious, and political factors that cause restrictive attitudes towards female performers. I pay particular attention to changes in some specific musical genres and the attitudes of the government officials towards them in pre and post-revolution Iran. I have tried to demonstrate the emotional and professional effects of post-revolution boundaries on female musicians and dancers. Chapter one of this thesis is a historical overview of the position of female performers in pre-modern and contemporary Iran. Thenext chapter examines the socio-political changes in post-revolution Iran and the impacts of the event on musical atmosphere of the country. The focus of this chapter is on female instrumentalists. There are two other chapters with focus on female singers and female dancers. Each of these chapters is followed by a case study to examine the post-revolution changes more precisely.