looking the part
They say looking the part is very important; in this case, it may stop me from getting arrested. So this afternoon, in a quest for garments that even an Ayatollah would have no qualms with, I walked down to Atlantic Avenue to buy appropriate clothing. I got a dead sexy Palestinian scarf to wear around my head. Well, the shopkeeper thought it was "very pretty" - good enough for me. I figured that I might as well take advantage of my location not to get shit for my political beliefs! I failed to find anything long enough for the rest of my body that was made of a breathable material, though. Most of the shops on that part of Atlantic are Indian or Pakistani, where people are less strict about covering up; they also mainly sell bright colours, which apparently won't do in Iran. I ended up finding clothes in this pseudo-hippie boutique on 5th Avenue called Omkarma (I found the name quite amusing, for some reason.) I bought a long tunic type thing and a long skirt, neither of which are too hideous. The truth is that I look more like a Grateful Dead fan than a nice Muslim girl; I'm not sure which is worse.
People have lots of misconceptions about dress in Iran. They either don't realize that ALL women have to veil, regardless of their religious beliefs, or they think that women have to go all the way and wear a burqua. Neither of these are the case. Women have to cover their whole bodies (arms, shoulders, legs, etc.), and the hair on their heads (not sure how they feel about mustaches) but not their faces. None of that eye-hole nonsense, but anything tight or form-fitting is forbidden.
My take on veiling is quite simple: if women believe in it and veil out of their personal or religious values, it's not oppressive. This is fairly self-evident. Similarly, if a woman wants to dress like Pamela Anderson because it her comfortable and not because she feel forced to make someone else happy, it's fine too. I do find it a little problematic for a government to impose veiling or any other religious regularions - in fact, I am against having a religious government in any country - so I'm less than thrilled about having to veil myself in Iran. However, since most people there are Muslims, I would probably veil out of respect even if it wasn't a stict rule. That being said, I'd be a little more reluctant to give up miniskirts.
It's funny - when we're around people from the Middle East, my mother instinctively drops her articles - so when asked what she was looking for, she says "We are looking for scarf or tunic." She's also taken to putting on a phony clipped accent, as though to affirm her foreignness. In the shop where I bought the scarf, the shopkeeper asked my mother where she was from, and she answered "Iran" - again, this varies according to who we are talking to. For Armenians, she's Armenian; for Russians, her mother gets blown out of proportion; for Francophones, she's Swiss to the bone. But back to the point. After she answered his question, he whipsered to her very discreetly, "your president is a very strong man." The same thing has happened in taxi cabs - the Arabs LOVE the guy. I'm sure it helps that he wants to wipe Israel off the map.
I've got the clothing covered; my plane ticket is booked. All I have to do now is to get a stamp on my passport in Bern in order to actually be able to LEAVE Iran. Certainly in my best interest. I leave for Geneva on Wednesday, and while it pains me terribly not to be in New York for three weeks, I am looking forward to the trip.
People have lots of misconceptions about dress in Iran. They either don't realize that ALL women have to veil, regardless of their religious beliefs, or they think that women have to go all the way and wear a burqua. Neither of these are the case. Women have to cover their whole bodies (arms, shoulders, legs, etc.), and the hair on their heads (not sure how they feel about mustaches) but not their faces. None of that eye-hole nonsense, but anything tight or form-fitting is forbidden.
My take on veiling is quite simple: if women believe in it and veil out of their personal or religious values, it's not oppressive. This is fairly self-evident. Similarly, if a woman wants to dress like Pamela Anderson because it her comfortable and not because she feel forced to make someone else happy, it's fine too. I do find it a little problematic for a government to impose veiling or any other religious regularions - in fact, I am against having a religious government in any country - so I'm less than thrilled about having to veil myself in Iran. However, since most people there are Muslims, I would probably veil out of respect even if it wasn't a stict rule. That being said, I'd be a little more reluctant to give up miniskirts.
It's funny - when we're around people from the Middle East, my mother instinctively drops her articles - so when asked what she was looking for, she says "We are looking for scarf or tunic." She's also taken to putting on a phony clipped accent, as though to affirm her foreignness. In the shop where I bought the scarf, the shopkeeper asked my mother where she was from, and she answered "Iran" - again, this varies according to who we are talking to. For Armenians, she's Armenian; for Russians, her mother gets blown out of proportion; for Francophones, she's Swiss to the bone. But back to the point. After she answered his question, he whipsered to her very discreetly, "your president is a very strong man." The same thing has happened in taxi cabs - the Arabs LOVE the guy. I'm sure it helps that he wants to wipe Israel off the map.
I've got the clothing covered; my plane ticket is booked. All I have to do now is to get a stamp on my passport in Bern in order to actually be able to LEAVE Iran. Certainly in my best interest. I leave for Geneva on Wednesday, and while it pains me terribly not to be in New York for three weeks, I am looking forward to the trip.
posted by atossa at 5:36 PM
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