Prostitution Behind the Veil explores the lives of two Iranian prostitutes in an uncompromising but sympathetic manner. This cutting-edge film illustrates how prostitution functions in a country where it is banned and where adultery sometimes results in capital punishment.

Minna and Fariba, who are good friends, have to make money to support both their children and their drug habits. They find male customers on the streets and have the dilemma of whether to bring their children along with them when they have sex with various men, or to leave the children alone at home. They describe their middle class backgrounds and how mendacious men and drugs led them into prostitution.

Men in Iran can find a way to buy sex and still comply with Muslim law by way of "Sighe," a temporary marriage legal in Shia Islam. A Sighe marriage can last from two hours up to ninety-nine years. Both Minna and Fariba participate in this pseudo-marriage with many of their customers. This is a heartfelt film by the director who fled Iran twenty years ago. She was horrified by the widespread prostitution and the huge drug problem. Her comments add perspective and contextual information to the unfolding events.

"Recommended. Nahid Persson, an Iranian expatriate, is the director and narrator. Although her portrayal of Mina and Fariba is sympathetic, it is clear that Persson is deeply troubled by what has happened, in terms of human rights and social justice, in her homeland. Viewers who have a vague image of what life in fundamentalist Iran is like will, after viewing this film, share the filmmaker’s despair." Linda Frederiksen, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA for EMRO

Tribeca Film Festival, 2005
SilverDocs Festival, 2005