Last week when we were in Iran, there was a rumor going round, that the police were going to crack down on girls not wearing their hejab modestly enough (lots of Iranian girls wear it only to the middle of the top of their head, with lots of hair – sometimes carefully coiffed – visible). Apparently the rumors spoke the truth:
Some people I know have yet to see the packs of police ushering women into awaiting minibuses, but my regular stomping grounds are in the heart of bad-hejabland. “At least the police are polite here,” a taxi driver tells me. They have to be polite. They are being watched by neighbors with cameras and internet connections. “You should see them over at some of the other spots. They are really going after women with force and being rough.”
Sounds bad. On the other hand somebody told me that this was exactly the kind of attitude from the authorites which could shake the country up, since many people simply won’t stand for it any longer. Personally I don’t think we’ll see any rebellion anytime soon. So meanwhile: watch that hejab!
Update, 28th of april:
The news found way to Danish media as well.
Update, 29th og april:
Now they’re going for the men. No more David Beckham stylez for you! We saw a lot of guys with big gelled-up high-hair haircuts in Tehran. Thank god, they put a stop to that, they were really ridiculous!
