Tehran's Red Light District

In July 1979 Iran's new Islamic government closed down Tehran's red-light district, and demolished all the buildings. Around 1500 prostitutes were working there at the time. Iranian novelist Zakaria Hashemi remembers the sleepless nights of the district, as well as the day it was leveled to the ground.

(Photo: Woman in Tehran's red-light district, 1970s. Courtesy of Kaveh Golestan Estate)