Iranian Journal of Sociology

Abstract This paper aims to study the construction of women identity by poststructuralist approach and Foucault's method of archeology. According to the findings, the historical period of Constitutionalism to the end of Pahlavi the first, which is regarded as the process of modernity in Iran, is considered as the creation of female issues and women identity in Iran. The three main discourses -political sovereignty, religious, and intellectual discourses - had influenced the construction of women identity by using law and force,  interpreting verses and hadiths, and publishing books and magazines respectively.
However, each of the three discourses tried to give a solid definition of femininity and women identity in Iran by defining a border with the other discourses and seeing them as "the other" one and attempting to suppress the individuality. Meanwhile, the representatives of the discourse of women's resistance have attempted to be heard using feminine narratives and a combination of identical factors of Iranian nationalism, the Shiite branch of Islam, and modern concepts like freedom, equality, and progress. In addition, these representatives weaken the dominance of the discourses and present their subjectivity.