Iran’s new sex-segregated park gets underway

Iran Focus:

Tehran, Iran, Aug. 21 – A new sex-segregated park is under development in the city of Mashad, north-eastern Iran, according to the head of the National Women’s Council.The new 110-hectare park will be used exclusively by women, Sedigheh Ghannadi told a state-run news agency, adding that men would not be able to see inside the park in any way, including from overflying aircraft.

“According to the studies that we have carried out, even from an aircraft flying over the park, women will not be seen, because of the special arrangement of plants and trees. We have chosen trees which have greater coverings and they will be planted in four rows and form a green wall”, Ghannadi said.

The development of the sex-segregated park was given a big boost after the hard-line Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, became Iran’s president in June. Prior to his rise to the presidency, Ahmadinejad was the Mayor of Tehran. One of his first decisions in the city hall was to order gender segregation on elevators.

The sex-segregated park in Mashad is expected to be fully operational within two years.