Redefining Identity for Women Who Lost Their Spouses: A research in districts of Afsariyeh and Abbasabad Tehran

The precise question of this research is: «How does the experience of women who lost their spouses effect on redefining of their gender identity? » this research was designed by using grounded theory. Data was gathered by using semi-structured interviews and observation. The sample includes 21 women without spouse who live in two neighborhoods of Abbassabad and Afsariye in Tehran city. Targeted sampling and theoretical sampling were used for sample selection. All data were collected and analyzed in social stages of open, axial and selective coding. The research findings showed that women after being in the position of losing husband, going through a period of grief. According to the data, three main categories of identity about women were identified, which are in three groups: 1) happy widows, 2)sad widows, and 3)wandering widows. Happy widows categorize in: dependent, warrior, and independent women. Redifining identity of women without a spouse is in five different paradigms. These paradigms are 1)-perished woman 2) Dependent woman 3) lonely woman 4) Warrior woman 5) Independent woman. The process of achieving gender identity of women without a spouse affected by the circumstances in which they are available, such as access to economic, cultural and social resources, motherhood, age and the formation of a relationship with their own family.