It's not that in Iran (and Afghanistan for that matter) men are able to discern prostitutes through a complex calculus of the the amount of make-up they are wearing in relation to their coordinates on a street map. Coming-on to a woman, not to mention mistaking one for a prostitute, is high risk behavior in Iran. Men wouldn't risk jail, or worse, if it were such a hit and miss endeavor. Just ask the teens in Esfahan and Tehran who have come up with ingenious ways to let the other sex know they're interested. (Ever walk down a busy street and notice someone several yards behind you keeps blurting the same 7-digit number only to disappear once you've turned around to take a gander?)

Instead of these chananigans, prostitutes use a universally known symbol- they wear their chadors inside-out. I found this out because as a novice chador-wearer visiting Iran in 2005, I once accidently slipped mine on the wrong way. Thankfully, a roomate filled me in before we even stepped outside the dorms in Qom. After I knew what to look for, I saw it more than once.

Thank for sharing. Thanks for giving a 'heads up' for the sex tourism industry in Iran and the continued exploitation of women AND men for debauchery.

Usama2, you're barking at the wrong car.

She's just telling us the way it is.

The point is that all societies have some level of prostitution. It can be organized and relatively safe like europe, or dirty and dangerous, like in the Islamic world.

bullspot:

which part of the article gave you the idea that it prostitution in Iran was "dirty and dangerous"? was it the part about young women living in pilgrim's quarters in holy shrines? or was it the part about the marriage registries to document a temporary relationship? please check your biased assumptions at the door.

also, prostitution in europe might be clean and relatively safe for women lucky enough not to be enslaved in the numerous underground brothels that compete with the legal ones, but that hardly makes it a dignified way to treat women in a society.

lastly, did you miss the recent slate piece about iran providing nickel vending machines in run-down areas to dispense needles and condoms to junkies and prostitues? or that fact that irani pharmacies give out free condoms to everybody? their claim was that they want to treat people as victims of harsh circumstances rather than criminals. maybe you should examine your erroneous assumption that everything in the islamic world is backwards and impractical.

Sex tourism industry in Iran? Are you seriously concerned that people reading this forum (mostly westerners) are going to hop on a plane and try to pick up prostitutes (i.e., exploit Muslim women) in Iran? In Iran?

I think there are places in the world where westerners are much more likely to go (safer, less likely to be executed) to get sex that are deserving of your concern for women.