PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes:
Bank Melli, one of Iran's biggest retail banks, opened the country's first women-only bank branch on Monday in Mashhad, allowing women to manage their finances without dealing with unrelated men — something likely to appeal to religious families who oppose mingling between the sexes. Under the Islamic legal system imposed after Iran's 1979 revolution, unrelated men and women are forbidden to have intimate contact.
However, this is not generally taken to include activities like banking or shopping, and women do commonly use banks where they may be served by someone of either sex.
