Islamic Nonsense

Despite the fantastic experience of travelling by bicycle around Iran and the warmth of the people, one thing really spoils the country - the obsessive issues that the government and the Imams seems to have with women.

Unlike Pakistan and even Eastern Turkey there are women everywhere, working equally with the men as doctors, lawyers, engineers etc ….the women must be the most educated women in the world yet they all live in fear that a little too much of their hair will show, or too much of their skin will be visible, and the men will all get too aroused….’Iranian men are dangerous’ we heard from many women, despite the fact that they also admitted that they didn’t actually know any men who would behave badly towards women.

Many women we spoke to said that they continued to wear the chador (the black tent which is now not compulsory) because it had become a habit and they knew they would never get any trouble if they did so (we could never really find out who would actually give them trouble).

The chador itself is the ultimate repression, a black sheet worn over the whole body that must be held with one hand and restricts movement, the ability to carry things and in the early evening or at night is positively dangerous in traffic. People also have another problem with the chador, if they lose a friend in a crowd, they can never find them again because they all look the same and no one can take their chador off so that they can be found!!

We heard many justifications for the chador and the head scarf, although only from a few young people still fresh from the imprint of religious indoctrination…

’Women must be covered to prevent men becoming sinful, it is for their own protection!’

‘Women are so beautiful, they must be covered to keep their beauty precious’….

Women we asked just said that they would take it off tomorrow if they were allowed and moaned about how hot it was to always wear something on your head. 

What misogynist nonsense!!! No surprise in a country run by repressed religious men! If everyone had free choice it would be fine, but here it’s law!! Girls must cover their hair from age 7 at school, and from age 9 in all public spaces, while boys wear what they want and young men squeeze themselves into tight little shirts and jeans!!

 




Even funnier are the ridiculous lengths that the authorities go to, to protect women doing exercise. Above is a picture of the extended walls around a women’s exercise area (to prevent men watching!) There are security guards with guns outside swimming pools who check that women are covered up properly when they leave.



Here’s a couple of other pictures that illustrate other issues that the government obviously has, one is a sign on a park wall which seems to be a little bit hypocritical


and the other was near the border with Turkey:
It’s a shame that they just don’t grow up and get on with life. For probably the most highly educated country in the world it’s so sad that such nonsense is allowed to even affect anyone’s life.