August 26, 2004

Behind the veil

Kerman, Iran

I was befriended today by three teenage girls, Roksana, Aida, and Ava. Visiting Roksana's house gave me a rare insight in to real life in Iran. The most striking thing is that as soon as they are through the door they take off, with some relief, the headscarf and long coat that they must wear at all times outside. Even to open the door they must be wearing the scarf.

When we first met they took me to a cafe for a drink. Heads definitely turned with these three girls talking to a western guy. A male friend of theirs, who was working at the cafe, suggested that maybe it wasn't appropriate. Luckily just then Roksana's brother, Romi, turned up which eased the tension a little.

Life in the home is very relaxed though, with western music on the DVD player and Roksana and Ava giving an impromptu display of Iranian dancing. Such a different world on one side or the other of the front door.

Roksana is 17 and Romi is 18 but their mother is only 34. She was married when she was 12. Even so she now works at the local university and had just been accepted in to a Masters degree. More than half of all university students are female.

Roksana had a brief taste of freedom a couple of years ago, when she had just had a quite short haircut. Her friends dressed her up as a boy and she walked down the street without the long coat or headscarf. Such liberation! But she won't ever be able to repeat that unless some drastic changes occur in the country.

Posted by David at August 26, 2004 02:54 AM