Government warning to psychologists: Discussion of "honor killings" is prohibited!

The Psychological System Organization and the Welfare Organization have begun a new round of pressure on psychologists, family counselors, and psychotherapists.

Psychologists and counselors who work in cyberspace will receive warnings from the Welfare Department and the Psychology System Organization if they use hashtags such as "zeal," "honor," "patriarchy," "honor killing," and "feminicide."

In some cases, their work permits have even been revoked for addressing this issue.

This is the voice and narrative of a psychologist from Iran who, of course, does not have the security and freedom to speak to us with her name and even her voice. We have changed her voice:

"Following Romina's murder, when a meeting was held, welfare workers were also present to examine the dimensions of the issue. When I suggested that parents should take parenting workshops before having children or that workshops should be held on introducing children to sexual issues, I was prevented from continuing the conversation."

Psychologists who talk about issues that are happening in Iran, such as honor killings, child marriage, etc., or who post on these topics and [emphasize] that jealousy and control are not signs of mental health but are signs of a type of illness, and who consider jealousy to be a type of illness, face warnings from the welfare department or the psychology system organization.

To the extent that last week we witnessed that one of the pages of one of our country's good psychologists, who are also very educated, was closed for raising this very issue, and their practice license was revoked.

Even my own colleagues, those who were live with feminist women who are active on Instagram and talk about issues such as honor and respect or equality between men and women, were warned for collaborating with feminist women and live with them and will no longer do so. These issues have caused educated and compassionate therapists to gradually distance themselves from therapy work, and the way has been opened for yellow and unscientific psychology in Iran.

This means that not only do femicide and femicide occur in Iran, not only have dozens of cases of women and girls being murdered with sickles and axes and beheaded in families been piled up over the years, not only have many lives, like the lives of Romina, Reyhaneh, Fatima, Sarina, and dozens of other girls and women, been up in smoke and gone up in smoke, not only does all of this happen, but it is also forbidden to talk about these tragedies.

What are the main keywords in all these cases? Honor, jealousy, the honor of the men of the family, prejudice, and regressive traditions.

The heartbreaking murder of Romina Ashrafi once again put all these keywords before Iranian society to think about and perhaps doubt their value.

This is, of course, not very desirable for the Iranian government. This week's guest psychologist in Jamia magazine says: "Authentic psychology and psychoanalysis in Iran face opposition from the government."

Opposition that government institutions are also following and dealing with on social media.

The psychologist continues:

"This strictness is not just in the treatment room. Even on their own virtual pages and social networks, they cannot freely talk about the issues that are happening in Iran, such as honor killings, child marriage, and many other issues. Because if they speak out, they will face a warning from the welfare department or the psychological system organization."

"To the extent that last week we witnessed that one of the best psychologists in Iran, who has a very popular page and is truly compassionate and knowledgeable, had his employment permit completely revoked and he was unemployed after speaking out about these issues."

The government, with its subordinate institutions and organizations, not only tries to cover up issues such as so-called honor killings or femicide, but also demands that psychologists and counselors, whose job is to help resolve individual and societal crises and teach problem-solving skills "without violence and resorting to concepts such as jealousy and honor," follow the government's political and religious ideology, not psychological theories; similar to what happens every day on the Islamic Republic Radio and Television in family and counseling programs.

Our guest psychologist from Tehran says:

"In Iranian television programs, we see psychologists who have no knowledge or education talking about how a child should respect their parents in all cases because Islam says that respect for parents should be maintained in all cases. But this contradicts what is discussed in psychology."

"Psychoanalysis says that children who are damaged are the ones who have suffered the most from their parents. This has caused those psychologists who are truly compassionate and who truly care about these issues to gradually distance themselves from therapy, and the way has been opened up for the promotion of yellow psychology and unscientific psychology in Iran."

Saeed Peyvandi, a sociologist in the field of education, analyzes this situation in contrast to the scientific approach to the changing and complex issues of society:

"When we talk about science, for example, the science of psychology, it requires that, in line with scientific advances and advances made in the field of research, we can gradually reach more accurate knowledge or new solutions to deal with social harms and problems. Whereas when our starting point is, for example, an ideology or a religion and its principles, they are fixed and do not change over time."

"So the problem that arises is that if we want to deal with the issue scientifically, we inevitably have to question and question these religious and ideological principles that govern a culture or way of thinking. And because this is not possible, ideology effectively leads us to a dead end in dealing with social harms."

Mr. Peyvandi interprets this situation as an ideological impasse; an impasse in which science cannot provide solutions to society's tensions and crises:

"If we put pressure on our psychologists and experts who should be advising families in the areas of male-female relationships, jealousy, and male behaviors that are criticized today, and we place them in this ideological and religious impasse, it can be said that we will never reach a solution."

"Maybe two or three hundred years ago we didn't have such a problem in society, but today the main problem in Iranian society and all societies in the world is that a very fundamental gap has emerged between the traditional view and social realities, and sciences such as psychology or sociology or social psychology are trying to find a solution through a modern reading of these harms. If they are stopped and the possibility of such a reading is taken away from them, in practice we will be in a situation where there will be no solution to the problems."

The tensions and crises of a society that is shedding its skin and moving from one era to another; women fighting for their rights, independence, and individuality, disobedient and dissatisfied youth, the increasing divorce rate, family crises, inequalities, a chaotic economy, and many other such issues, could perhaps be freely discussed, examined, and resolved in counseling and treatment offices in a free society, and their heavy burden could be lifted from society's shoulders; a possibility that in Iran, the ideological approach to psychology stands like a barrier against.

Source: Radio Farda