Blog 10: Women, Dress and Head Scarfs in Iran

Blog 10:  WOMEN, DRESS AND HEAD SCARFS IN IRAN

As I mentioned in my first blog Zanny and I have been wearing headscarfs everywhere outside our hotel rooms. Zanny has some difficulty with keeping her scarf or ‘Hijab’ on her head and checks frequently to be sure her scarf has not fallen off. I think that I look ridiculous in a scarf but Zanny always looks Buddhaesque, elegant and beautiful in her scarfs.

It is interesting that prior to the 1979 revolution head veils were not required and many women did not wear them.  With the advent of the Iranian government theocracy it became mandatory for women to wear these scarfs. President Ahmedinajad also warned that some garments were too tight and steps would be taken to enforce the rules.  We joke about the morality police coming to get us because we are dressed inappropriately or showing too much hair or cleavage. However, sauntering around the beautiful Eram Persian Garden in Shiraz with stone water canals, shaded terraces and many kinds of trees including cypresses, elms, oaks, and maples I observe many couples and families sitting on benches or rugs sipping tea, holding hands and often looking very lovingly at each other.  The variety of dress style is astounding. 

Some women are completely covered in black chadors sometimes looking very severe (and depressed) and other times with their make up and carefully crafted eyebrows quite attractive and mysterious.


A chador consists of a full-length semi-circle of fabric that the women hold together with their hands (or teeth) because it typically does not have any fasteners on it.

I am always amazed in the markets when I see women dressed in black buying brightly covered fabric with lots of bling. I imagine what they must look like in their homes when the chadors are removed.



It is interesting to see the mannequins and style of clothes that are being sold in the bazaar. The dresses and men's suits look like America 30 years ago and but perhaps not today. 

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Since Zanny and I are having difficulty keeping our headscarfs on, I can’t imagine how they keep on a chador while carrying a purse, or grocery bag or child. It clearly requires great dexterity.  Other women are stylishly dressed in bright colors, lots of make up including false eye lashes, varnished nails, and tight pants under their tightly fitted mid level dress coats. 

Taking a selfie 

Our guide has also told us that many people (including men) come to Shiraz for “nose jobs” to get the upturned Western look and I see at least 10 people with bandages on their noses after surgery. It makes me sad to see that they don't believe their Iranian noses are beautiful. 

Guide after a Nose Job 

Walking here seems more like a fashion show and I am intrigued by the contrast between the old traditional dress style and the new modern way. While all the women follow the letter of the law and wear hijabs the young women manage to look very stylish in the way they wear their scarfs with their sometimes died blond hair showing and their tightly fitted jackets, tight jeans and sexy walk in high heels.  Many are not wearing the recommended loose-fitting clothing that hides their female bumps and curves ~ au contraire.  

Family taking a selfie 

Another family more traditional in dress

One morning in the gorgeous and very posh Esfahan hotel I am up at my usual 5 am time and retreat to the coffee shop so John can sleep. I am the only person in the room and a handsome man about my age smiles at me saying something that I don’t understand. I think he is asking if I want coffee. About 10 minutes later he comes back and smiles at me again and I tell him I am fine.  This scenario is repeated 3-4 times and I wonder if perhaps he is picking me up. Alas my Bond Spy movie imagination is taking me away into fantasyland. Finally he points to my head and I realize that I am sitting in the restaurant without my headscarf on. Yikes!

I apologize and rush back to the room hoping he has not called the morality police. Certainly a foreigner ~ even a Canadian will not get away with this disrespectful behavior.  However, I also note that by the time I arrive in Esfahan I have already switched my baggy trousers for my tight jeans!

There is a tension in Iran between the more moderate, modernizing elements and the conservative clerics who hold great sway in the government (after all, the Supreme Leader is a cleric in this theocracy).  Several women in Tehran were recently questioned and publicly admonished  (but not beheaded or stoned!) for not wearing proper dress.