Tourist hejab

During the early part of our trip, in Tehran and then Gilan province, we saw not a single non-Iranian tourist. In Esfahan we spotted a handful (mostly Asians, interestingly enough) and then more and more as time went on. Must have been something to do with our timing.

I was struck by how a minority of female tourists just didn't seem to understand hejab (mandated modest clothing), or else got it but chose to try to push it to the legal limit.

Stripping away all the baggage that hejab carries and avoiding any discussion of the rightness or wrongness of it, acceptable hejab in Iran boils down to a few really simple rules:

• It's the law in Iran.
• It applies to men and women, but not equally. For blokes, the only restrictions are no t-shirts and no shorts.
• Women have to cover their hair. A bit of fringe is OK.
• Women have to cover their bums with a long top or jacket, at least mid-thigh length.
• You can take off your coverings in your own private space.

That's it. I was really surprised to see tour groups of mature adults (probably thoughtful and intelligent adults) wandering about as though they were in a European city. It dawned on me that either they just weren't looking around them to see how Iranis dressed, or had chosen to attempt to buck the system. Equally, I was surprised that the tour guides didn't pull them up on it. (Maybe they were too polite?)

I reckon the sloppy tourist dress really caught my eye because Aisling adopted hejab with as much style as possible (well, I would say that, wouldn't I?), copying the type of hejab worn by educated urban Irani women. She blended in really well; quite a few times I had to search for her in bazaars if her back was turned, because her veil and manteau (long overcoat) looked so much the part.

The thing about hejab is that although it's mandated by law in Iran, most Iranians will respect you for adopting hejab just like everyone else. Aisling was only ever treated with the greatest of courtesy; she wasn't subjected to leering, groping or inappropriate comments, even on the few occasions when she went wandering around the bazaars by herself. I have a suspicion that some of the tour group folks wouldn't have had the same mellow experience of Iran that Aisling did.

If you're resentful of the oppressive dess code, wouldn't you feel all the more annoyed if a local pulled you up because your dress wasn't modest enough? Better to treat it as Aisling did, as a necessary fancy dress, do it with as much style as possible.