Interaction between Gender and Space in Tehran Bazaar: The Case of Sabzeh Meydan and Moshir Khalvat

Abstract

The number of women in Tehran urban spaces is on the increase, and it is coupled with differing qualities of presence of women. But urban design researchers in Iran have rarely adopted a qualitative approach to the way women interact with the physical aspects of these spaces.The northern parts of the Tehran bazaar has experienced changes in the quantity and quality of women's presence. The present research aims to find out how the physical environment of the bazaar as well as its activities affects and is affected by women’s presence. In order to do so a study is conducted on reciprocal reproduction of gender and space in Sabzeh Meydan and Moshir Khalvat, using participant observation and in-depth interviews. The results show that the specifications of these spaces constrain some aspects of women’s presence and marginalizes them. Despite the increase in women’s numbers men keep their stronger role in reproducing the physical space in these two spaces. Despite both being gendered spaces not equally used by women and men, Sabzeh Meidan provides some more opportunities for optional and social activities in the public realm, giving women the chance to be present for non-essential purposes whilst participate more proactively in reproduction of the physical environment, which is due to both the physical aspects of this space and around space activities.

Keywords

• gender
• urban space
• tehran bazaar
• ethnography
• social production of space