فهرست مطالب fatemeh fallahminbashi

Today there is a considerable number of people who live alone.Some have chosen to live alone and others have been forced to do so. Meanwhile, the proportion of women living alone has significantly increased. This study aims to compare the lived experience of two groups of single women who live alone, the first group chose this life-style voluntarily and the second was forced to live alone, to explore the similarities and differences. Taking a phenomenological approach, data was collected from interviews with 28 unmarried women over 40 years of age living alone in Tehran either voluntarily or involuntarily. Research findings show voluntary solo-living women are mostly educated, employed and enjoy a good social and economic status. They are eager to present themselves as an independent, self-made, and determined woman by improving their education, skills, and abilities. In other words, they partly accompany the prevailing idea in neoliberalism, that individuals prefer to be alone and define and limit their relationships according to their priorities. In contrast, forced solo-living women are who have not married, willingly or unwillingly, and have remained single. They have either been forced to separate from their families due to family pressures, or they have been left alone in life with the loss of their parents and forced migration. This group not prepared to manage a solitary life. The independence and individual freedoms gained as a result of this lifestyle are unattractive to them, and but most of them see marriage as a way out of this situation.

In the young Iranian society، any issues related to the youth can be considered as a social problem، since young generation form one third of the Iranian society، i. e. there are more than 24 million people ranging from 20 to 35 years of age. Young generation can be quite influential in the family، as the main Iranian social institution. Sociologists see marriage as a social contract which both guarantees the survival of human being and brings about tranquility and security in a society. Moreover، family institution is the most important social institution. Today، with the increase in the age of marriage and reduction in the rate of marriage، the youths’ selecting a marriage partner and forming a family have become considerably important issues. The youth avoid getting married due to several reasons so the issue of marriage postponement goes beyond a personal issue andprojectsitself as a social one. The findings of the present study confirm the positive attitude of the majority of the youth towards the necessity of marriage. Despite the current increase in the marriage age، the youth expressed that the optimal marriage age is 23. 2 for females and 27. 6 for males.