Flats by the hour for sexually frustrated singles

More and more landlords are taking advantage of the trend, offering “fully-furnished luxury apartments” to unmarried young people in the capital.

Shahrzadnews: Frustrated young couples in Iran are renting flats by the hour in order to have sex. This is a new phenomenon for the country, where having a private life is a rarity for young people. Most young Iranians live with their parents until they get married, and cultural taboos prevent them from bringing a partner home. Finding a safe place to have sex is a problem, particularly as it’s strictly forbidden by the current regime. They cannot even hold hands in restaurants, cafés, and other public places.

More and more landlords are taking advantage of the trend, offering “fully-furnished luxury apartments” to unmarried young people in the capital. But the police claim that such apartments represent a serious danger. According to the conservative website Javan, the authorities are responding to a number of complaints made to local police stations about rooms in their neighbourhood offered for several hundred thousand tomans per day.

In an interview published on the website, sociologist Farhad Tahmasbi comments: “In Iran there is virtually no tradition of individualism. Those who use these apartments are mainly single young people still living at home, who need a place to have sex. But hidden sexual activity of this kind can get out of hand, resulting in serious criminal behaviour and other social ills.”