Never Without Love by Mehrnaz Massoudi

Author:Mehrnaz Massoudi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inanna Publications
Published: 2019-02-27T16:00:00+00:00

24. Dark Days

AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI’S DECREE IN 1980 made the hijab for women mandatory in Iran. In order to disrupt any uprising against his government, Khomeini placed an absolute ban on all forms of dissent. Ayatollah Khomeini also called for the foundation of a youth militia—Basij. Now Basij was called out onto the streets at times of crisis to dispel dissent.

Basij became the police of their neighbours’ morals: their main focus was placed on locating and persecuting bad hijab practise. Women were not allowed to show their hair and skin in public. We had a choice of wearing a scarf, loose and non-fitting coats, and long pants. Only the faces and hands of women were allowed to be seen in public. It was not mandatory to wear a chador—the one piece of fabric that covers a woman from head to toe.

It was a sad day for me when the law first came into effect: I still walked the streets of Tehran under the beautiful sun, but I had to cover my hair with a scarf. There were many demonstrations against the mandatory hijab. Women who refused to wear the hijab were arrested and sentenced to lashes. There were even some incidents where random people in the street attacked women, throwing acid into their faces or slicing them with knives.

Baba told me the story of Reza Shah who had banned the hijab in 1935.

“In those days, Mother and my aunt tried to wear dresses and coats with elegant hats to stroll in the streets of Tehran. They felt awkward leaving the house without their hijabs; they only walked a few steps before running back inside. They felt naked without their hijabs, and they laughed at their failed attempts. I witnessed my mother being forced out of wearing her hijab, and now my daughters are being forced into wearing them. Mother had a great selection of chadors. I remember a black one that was made of a tightly woven mesh-like fabric displaying patterns of leaves in silk velvet. My favourite one was black with a turquoise lining. When she walked, the turquoise showed. She had a beautiful wardrobe of elegant clothes, chador, and jewellery.”

I think he hoped to make me feel better about being forced to wear a hijab.

He continued: “Reza Shah was passionate about modernizing our country, including involving women in education. For the first time in the history of Iran, women were being accepted into universities. Your Great Aunt Nayer Samii was a member of parliament. I fear that the Islamic Republic is going backwards by denying women their freedom.”

Baba had a friend who had passed away when he was young. Whenever we ran into his widow in Tonekabon, Baba stopped to pay his respects. She was beautiful and serene.

“I remember the day my friend married the most beautiful young woman in Tonekabon,” Baba would say. He liked telling me about her and describing her beauty. She did not remarry after her husband died, and she raised her two sons on her own.

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