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Abstract
The dominant model in Iran used to be patriarchal extended family. Its members linked by blood and by alliance would include an initial couple its children and the families of these children. This family model was characterized by the absolute power of the father head of the family; by strong solidarity between the sons who had equal rights of succession; and by a high frequency of endogamy usually between first cousins the ideal being marriage between the children of two brothers. The tasks and responsibilities of the traditional family were multiple and substantial. The family was charged with the welfare of its members from birth to death covering all aspects of social life. In addition to giving its members emotional support the family also supplied them--to use modern terminology--educational medical and financial assistance. Among the familys multiple roles were those of employment agency marriage agency and retirement fund. Familial involvement was based on the primary of lineage solidarity and required continued interdependence among its members. Recent decades however have seen the modernization of social and economic conditions in Iran linked to the development of a market economy and wage labour urbanization and access to state-funded education and social services. This appears to have induced substantial changes in the size and structure of the family as well as in its social functions. In this article we begin by presenting the evolution and current characteristics of the Iranian family such as this can be established from the available sources. Next we describe the states policy of social assistance from its origins to the present day and finally we advance some hypotheses concerning the states impact on the functions of the family. (authors)
Published Version
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