The magazine 'Women Today' has been suspended

According to Mehr News Agency, the Press Supervisory Board of Iran, in its meeting on Tuesday, May 7, suspended the magazine 'Women Today' for allegedly 'promoting and justifying white marriage' and sent the case to court. Meanwhile, Fars News Agency reported that 'failure to respect women's rights' and 'insistence on discussing women's presence in stadiums' were among the reasons cited by the Press Supervisory Board for the suspension of 'Women Today'. The Secretary of the Press Supervisory Board stated that the board considered the magazine's articles on 'white marriage' as 'promoting and justifying' this lifestyle and 'contrary to religious and national values', thus issuing the suspension order. According to IRNA, Aladdin Zahoorian also mentioned that the board identified some of the magazine's content as 'promoting and justifying deviance'. In response to these accusations, the editor-in-chief of 'Women Today' stated that the magazine was not aimed at promoting or justifying white marriage and had also critiqued it. According to ISNA, Shahla Sherkat emphasized: 'The issue of white marriage was first raised by the Ministry of Interior; if it was not meant to become widespread, then why was it brought up?' She pointed out that the topic of 'white marriage' was discussed in issue five of 'Women Today', adding: 'The explanation of this issue was completely impartial, and in part of the report, we interviewed those who encountered this problem, concluding that women's rights are undermined in such regulations, so I don't understand what their problem was.' In recent months, some officials of the Islamic Republic have expressed concern about the rising statistics of 'white marriage', which refers to women and men living together without formal marriage. For instance, Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, the head of the Supreme Leader's office, criticized 'white marriages' on Sunday, December 9, 2014, stating that it won't be long before the 'halal' generation of people choosing this lifestyle disappears, and their offspring will be considered 'illegitimate'. The publication of 'Women Today', under the editorship of Shahla Sherkat, resumed in June 2014 after nearly seven years of suspension. This magazine began its publication as 'Women's Magazine' in February 1991 and had its license revoked in February 2007 by the Press Supervisory Board. Throughout its publication, it faced severe criticism from conservative factions for printing critical content and challenging laws related to women, and it had been taken to court multiple times. Shahla Sherkat, the editor-in-chief of this magazine, received the 'Courage in Journalism' award in 2005. The issue of women's presence in stadiums as spectators, which Fars News Agency cited as one of the reasons for the suspension of 'Women Today', has faced numerous restrictions since the Islamic Revolution in Iran and had made headlines again in April. Abdolhamid Ahmadi, the Deputy Minister of Sports and Youth, announced on Saturday, April 15, that the National Security Council had approved the ministry's proposal, and women's presence in sports venues to watch 'some sports competitions' would be implemented this year. However, shortly after, Babak Dinparast, the head of the Ministry of Interior's Information and International Affairs Center, announced that 'the National Security Council has not issued any resolution regarding women's presence in sports venues.' In response to these news, Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Vice President of Iran for Women's Affairs, stated that a comprehensive regulation regarding the presence of women and families in sports venues has been drafted in a tripartite joint committee, but it has not yet reached final approval. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during his presidency, attempted to lift some restrictions on women's entry into stadiums but was unable to do so due to opposition from many conservatives and influential clerics.