Iran Women

Vice squads have detained 802 women and men this week for flouting the Islamic dress code, Tehran's police chief said. The code requires women to show no more than their face and hands in public. There are no specific rules for men's clothing, but they are encouraged to dress modestly. The Tehran police chief said that of those detained, "785 were released after expressing repentance, and the rest were later freed after pledging at a court to respect social norms."

The head of Iran's judiciary urged government officials to fire female staff who flout the Islamic dress code at work. "Ministers, directors and heads of government offices are duty-bound to ensure that ladies working for them keep an Islamic appearance," Ayatollah Mohammed Yazdi said in a mass prayer sermon broadcast on Tehran Radio. "Women can work, but provided that they abide by Islamic norms. Officials must treat this seriously.

During the time of the shah she had worked for the Royal Family, enjoying the usual privileges: lovely clothes, expensive cars, diplomatic dinner party invitations. After the shah was thrown out, the revolution wanted to know why. Wasn't this a picture of her, naked and acting like a whore, at one of those parties? A bearded policeman thrust his finger at an old photograph of her, smilingly clad in spaghetti straps between two tiresome dinner partners.

The strains of modern music wafted to the street on a recent evening and guests at a lively party here boogied until 2 a.m. Gathered were members of Tehran's middle class, whose very attendance at a party--where a homemade raisin vodka, keshmesh, and wine were served--bespoke the new, liberalized mood infusing Iranian cities. "People like to enjoy themselves again, after 12 years of revolution and eight years of war (with Iraq)," one guest observed.

Police have outlawed peepholes in the front doors of private offices and vowed to shut down any foreign company whose female staff flout Iran's strict Islamic dress code. Peepholes presumably give women who do not comply with the code at work the chance to cover up before strangers are allowed to enter. The law requires women to cover their head and body with loose garments, showing no more than their face and hands. Violators may receive up to 74 lashes, be fined or imprisoned.

Solo women singers will remain barred from Iran's airwaves despite rumors of a change in policy, the country's broadcasting chief was quoted on Saturday as saying. Mohammed Hashemi said radio and television would go on playing music by female choirs, but women singing alone does not conform to the broadcasting organization's Islamic code, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported.

As dawn breaks over the towering Elborz Mountains, Elaheh Adeli throws a baggy coat over her sweats, covers her bobbed hair and runs to an outdoor lot to engage in what, for an Iranian woman, is a blatantly defiant act. She plays basketball with her husband and his pals. For 15 years, Simin Ekrami has worked artistic magic with chunks of wood, clay and plaster of Paris.

Jalal Shahpasand, a tall, husky restaurateur, waited until after dinner and the chaperons had gone off to watch television. After courting "the lovely Jila" for a year, he was ready. So he took her hand and softly asked, "Will you marry me?" Jila nodded. Javad Goudarzi, a handsome plastics worker with a thick mustache, chose the traditional route to marriage: family arrangement. When he met 19-year-old Theahereh the first time, he decided that she was the girl for him.

As dawn breaks over the towering Elborz Mountains, Elaheh Adeli throws a baggy coat over her sweats, covers her bobbed hair and runs to an outdoor lot to engage in what, for an Iranian woman, is a blatantly defiant act. She plays basketball with her husband and his pals. For 15 years, Simin Ekrami has worked artistic magic with chunks of wood, clay and plaster of Paris.

Jalal Shahpasand, a tall, husky restaurateur, waited until after dinner and the chaperons had gone off to watch television. After courting "the lovely Jila" for a year, he was ready. So he took her hand and softly asked, "Will you marry me?" Jila nodded. Javad Goudarzi, a handsome plastics worker with a thick mustache, chose the traditional route to marriage: family arrangement. When he met 19-year-old Theahereh the first time, he decided that she was the girl for him.

The head of Iran's judiciary urged government officials to fire female staff who flout the Islamic dress code at work. "Ministers, directors and heads of government offices are duty-bound to ensure that ladies working for them keep an Islamic appearance," Ayatollah Mohammed Yazdi said in a mass prayer sermon broadcast on Tehran Radio. "Women can work, but provided that they abide by Islamic norms. Officials must treat this seriously.

Vice squads have detained 802 women and men this week for flouting the Islamic dress code, Tehran's police chief said. The code requires women to show no more than their face and hands in public. There are no specific rules for men's clothing, but they are encouraged to dress modestly. The Tehran police chief said that of those detained, "785 were released after expressing repentance, and the rest were later freed after pledging at a court to respect social norms."

During the time of the shah she had worked for the Royal Family, enjoying the usual privileges: lovely clothes, expensive cars, diplomatic dinner party invitations. After the shah was thrown out, the revolution wanted to know why. Wasn't this a picture of her, naked and acting like a whore, at one of those parties? A bearded policeman thrust his finger at an old photograph of her, smilingly clad in spaghetti straps between two tiresome dinner partners.

Police have outlawed peepholes in the front doors of private offices and vowed to shut down any foreign company whose female staff flout Iran's strict Islamic dress code. Peepholes presumably give women who do not comply with the code at work the chance to cover up before strangers are allowed to enter. The law requires women to cover their head and body with loose garments, showing no more than their face and hands. Violators may receive up to 74 lashes, be fined or imprisoned.

The strains of modern music wafted to the street on a recent evening and guests at a lively party here boogied until 2 a.m. Gathered were members of Tehran's middle class, whose very attendance at a party--where a homemade raisin vodka, keshmesh, and wine were served--bespoke the new, liberalized mood infusing Iranian cities. "People like to enjoy themselves again, after 12 years of revolution and eight years of war (with Iraq)," one guest observed.

Solo women singers will remain barred from Iran's airwaves despite rumors of a change in policy, the country's broadcasting chief was quoted on Saturday as saying. Mohammed Hashemi said radio and television would go on playing music by female choirs, but women singing alone does not conform to the broadcasting organization's Islamic code, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported.