Marital rights: Lived experiences of Iranian women with retired spouses in a qualitative study

The aim of the present study was to analyze the lived experiences of Iranian women living with their retired spouses in relation to their marital rights.

The research method was qualitative and descriptive phenomenology. The statistical population included women living with their retired spouses in the city of Isfahan, and the sample consisted of 15 women. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, with three general questions on emotional rights, economic rights, and sexual rights, and were approved by five experts. Data were analyzed using the seven-step Colaizzi method.

After transcribing the interviews and coding the data, the following axial codes were identified. Emotional rights included the two categories of camaraderie and dissatisfaction. Economic rights included the four categories of economic management, economic well-being, respect for women's economic property, and economic problems. Finally, sexual rights consisted of the two categories of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with sexual relationships. The results showed that some participants were satisfied with the implementation of their rights during their spouse's retirement, while others were dissatisfied. Most current marital problems related to emotional, economic, and sexual rights result from past and unresolved marital life conflicts that lead to the escalation of family tensions.

According to the dissatisfied participants, the best strategy for resolving these problems was to "sweep them under the rug,", i.e., to rehire the men and protest the lack of support for the retirees by the state organization. In contrast, satisfied participants played an important role in solving the problems and actively dealt with their spouse's retirement rather than taking a passive and protesting role to realize their marital rights.