How to live in hijab

We went to Iran as part of the project "Three countries in Hijab". Our task was to see and understand how modern Iranian woman lives, is it difficult to wear a handkerchief every day, as it matches the laws of Sharia and whether these laws are actually strict. I am Tatyana Kolodyzhnaya, photographer project. My task was to fix what we saw and worried. My girlfriend, Journalist Anna Abrabenko, communicated with local women, tried to delve into the essence of the processes taking place, tried hijab on himself. We flew to the south of Iran from Bahrain, and the first city in which they turned out to be Shiraz.

In Shiraz, we witnessed an annual rally against the policy of Israel and the USA. Muslim Brothers Palestine in Iran teach support from childhood.

Shiraz is called the most liberal city of Iran after the capital. Women here are free to dress fashionable and stylish, but with two undoubted conditions. The first is a mandatory headscarf.

Depending on the form, it is called differently. If triangular, then rusari, and if large, rectangular, then shawl. In our, this word is just borrowed from Farsi.

The second condition – the buttocks and thighs must be covered with a long tunic. Here such a type of clothing is called Manto.

If you think that there is nothing special in such restrictions, then try at least a week to walk down the street with a covered head and under no circumstances to remove the scarf in any public places (in the supermarket, at work, fitness center). It is difficult, especially to us accustomed to a free self-expression. The first few days I was delighted: a scarf – after all it is so beautiful!

But by the end of our two-week journey in Iran, I was already ready to burn it without unnecessary ceremonies. What can we talk about the same type of clothes, which – you want it or not – the hoodie hangs on the shoulders almost to the knee itself. Plus mandatory pants. Well, or leggings as a last resort. No shorts, short and even long skirts, bare hands, neck, knee. And all this in the heat is not less than +40 ° C. In such constrained circumstances, Iranian women use any available funds that can emphasize their attractiveness. The most important of all is cosmetics. Iranki is painted bright, abundantly and thoroughly.

Anya, which is not painted at all, wanted to experience makeup in Iranian style for himself. It was quite funny to watch how the eyebrows first appear on her face, then the eyes and the following lips. Cosmetics added five years. The result was funny, but it’s still an Light version. Many Iranki face much brighter.

Mandatory for Visit in Shiraz – Legendary Bazaar Vakil. This place is unique. Covered building with a high arch stretched out for several quarters. Like in past centresses, today it is the center of trading life shiraz and a lively tourist attraction. We went there to lay up on local women and picked up.

Bazaar Vakil – one of the largest and most beautiful markets of the country. Here all conceivable treasures are sold, which is famous for the thought of Persia. Famous Iranian carpets, metal dishes, manually painted blue enamel, spices, gold, luxury fabrics, sweets, fruit – all this you will find here.

Such a native and familiar symbol of the our feast samovar in Iran is used widely and everywhere even today. It is sold in the bazaar and called the same word: "Samovar".

In each of more than 200 shops of bazaar Sellers – Men. Often it is a family business that goes from the Father to the Son.

For rare exceptions, the overwhelming majority of buyers of the bazaar, of course, women.

Hijab in Iran – this is not only a handkerchief and manto. Especially religious wear Chadra, which determines and style, and the behavior of a woman. Under the Chado is always dark, nonsense, closed, long tunic plus dark pants. On the face not a gram of makeup, on the nails, no varnish, no decorations. The glance is fixed in the floor. A woman who hides its charms from an extraneous gaze and opens only in front of her husband or family members, is considered in Islam pious.

After Shiraza, we went to the yazis, a city with more conservative ingredients.

The yazz is attractive in that it is more than in other Iranian cities, an old globbit center has been preserved with numerous sacred buildings that are regularly restored.

In the eezde there is a valid Zoroastrian temple, in which the fire has been maintained for many centuries. Several times a day, it is fed by firewood of fruit trees, thereby keeping loyalty to the prophet. Despite the obvious domination of Islam, the cult of more ancient religious tradition in Iran has been preserved. In the Yezde, Zoroastrianism is confirmed by Gebra, a religious ethnocon confessional minority, living also in the vicinity of Kerman. The number of Gebris is small – less than fifty thousand people.

Symbols of Zoroastrianism – Faravahar is found in Iran everywhere. The good spirit on the winning disk is designed to combine the soul with its great divine source, Ahura Mazda.

In the Zoroastrian tradition, women also covered their heads. As sources say, they did it during a certain period of their cycle. In Islam, a woman begins to wear hijab from the moment of puberty, but often in the eezda in it there are very little girls.

In Isfahan, we stopped in the family, which was called "female paradise". Already nursing parents for their joint life gave birth and raised already six daughters. And one son. Women of this family reacted to us as native.

One of the older sisters named Zoe – a lawyer. She lives in Tehran and works in court. It was the work that was the cause of her religiosity. Today she does something that did not even think about: Makes Namaz three times a day. One of the requirements for civil servants – to comply with the laws of Sharia. Instead – prestigious position, good salary, social status. Daughter Zoya is also studying lawyer.

The middle of the sisters is called Mozgan. She is a teacher of English in one of the universities of Isfahan. Mozhan despises the current government. She told us a lot of interesting things about the modern position of a woman in the country. For example, the fact that the female employee is paid obviously less than a male employee: "The logic of officials is the following. A man must contain a family, and the woman works allegedly only for pleasure. Today in Iran too much divorces, which means unprotected women too. ".

The youngest – MEKNEZ. Sisters call her anarchist. Meeknez carries a scarf symbolically, a hair is visible from it, and this is a haram, forbidden. This Iranian beauty is also going to become a lawyer and expects to successfully marry: "Marriage contract – a prerequisite condition. First of all, this is a guarantee of a worthy existence in case something goes wrong. ".

In Isfahara Anya tried to wear Chadra. It turned out that this is not just a piece of fabric covering body bends, but a special state of mind: humility, adoption and faith.

Another chadra is invisible bedspread. Wear and cease to be an exotic foreign. But as if Anya knew how to play Orthodox Muslims, taking a repentance, sisters in a friendly ridiculous her appearance, then calling the Pakistani Gypsy. Issued piercing in the nose and inept handling of black mantle.

Tehran unpleasantly surprised by the unequivocal attention of men. The Marble Tower of Azdi boys shouted to us in the back: "Sexy! Sex!"

In the subway, young guys wink, hook and whistled following. In the market, a man grabbed a soft place. In the bus, the seller of the snacks as if negligent spent his hand on his chest.

For all the time in Iran, such a stupid happened to us only in the capital. Therefore, we were glad to escape from noisy and roast Tehran to Masulch mountain village in northwest of the country.

Masulech – a favorite place of recreation of Iranian tourists. The village is notable for its architecture. Her houses are interconnected, and the ceilings of those buildings that are located on the lower tier are floors or a path for those that the tier is higher. So, walking through the narrow streets of the village, we will surely stamped on someone’s roof.

From Masulyha on all pairs, we went to Astara, bordering Azerbaijan to continue my study "Three countries in Hijab" there. Astara became our latest point on the travel map in Iran. In two weeks, we traveled wondrous Persia from the south to the north, fell in love with her landscapes and cities, the sympathy was sneaked and moved with many local residents. However, Hijab so tired of our freedom-loving nature, that we considered the happiness to disrupt it from the head, only only crossing the border.

During the trip, we learned that being a woman in modern Iran is much easier than someone seven or ten years ago. Then the religious police were much stringent and aggressive in his control over the norms of morality. Today, girls can dress in more colorful, fitting clothes, including the handkerchief is not free to remove nobody. Such a state of affairs, aggravated by the causticism of the country from the rest of the world, the growth of specialists with the highest education of female, acute lack of jobs, low labor and social insecurity, create a strong tension in society.

Almost all women encountered in Iran, expressed their dissatisfaction with the policies of the ruling party. Each had its own active position, but not every was ready to act. We were told that in the country there is a movement fighting for women’s rights. Anyone can join him, publicly removing the scarf. Perhaps a few years will pass, the number will turn into quality, and the world will appear new Persia, free from today’s prejudice. But so far, for the obvious confrontation of the regime, the same as after the Islamic revolution of 1979, punishable. The fear of not the first generation, which grew up in this system, makes many women to adapt or tolerate social injustice, and sometimes just close their eyes. However, even in such difficult conditions, they all remain beauties, chambers and inspirational, which was always the woman of the East.