Young and free in Iran
Jan 31, 2011 18:55:14 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2011 18:55:14 GMT
I'm pretty sure that any of us who may have been young at some time in the past can claim that it is impossible to keep young people from having fun, no matter what the rules are. Iran is a country that has not impressed most of us with its rules, even though the great majority of them don't seem very different from life in a country like the United States around 1950. Rules for men and women, dress codes, censorship, police repression, etc. I don't remember seeing too many articles about how being in the U.S. in 1950 was a terrible place to be. Of course it wasn't -- it was very far ahead of most societies.
Nevertheless, young people back then in America found strange ways to dress, strange music to listen to, and a myriad of ways to annoy their parents.
Iran in 2011 is not nearly as bad as the United States in 1950 -- they have Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, satellite television, among other things -- but young people still need to annoy the authorities.
The latest development is curly hair. Yes, you read that correctly. It was apparently set off last July during the Modesty and Veil Festival (sounds like great fun). At that time, the Ministry of Culture published a list of authorised Islmanic hairstyles for men. No more mohawks, mullets, visible gel, spikes or ponytails!
This made young people angry, and so was born the Facebook group MooFerferia (curly hair). The Iranian norms concern straight hair, but nobody can do much about curly hair, right? The government wants straight and controllable things, but they can't actually straighten hair. Aha, a loophole!
So now there are gatherings in parks in Tehran, which infuriate the authorities, but no laws are being broken. When they tell the curly heads to disperse, they disperse -- and then regroup elsewhere.
As strict and repressive as Iran is, I have the impression that it is a terrific country full of wonderful people. Therefore, the regime will not last forever -- we just need to be a bit patient.
If you are Iranian and want to join the curly hair Facebook group, here is the link: www.facebook.com/MooFerferia
Nevertheless, young people back then in America found strange ways to dress, strange music to listen to, and a myriad of ways to annoy their parents.
Iran in 2011 is not nearly as bad as the United States in 1950 -- they have Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, satellite television, among other things -- but young people still need to annoy the authorities.
The latest development is curly hair. Yes, you read that correctly. It was apparently set off last July during the Modesty and Veil Festival (sounds like great fun). At that time, the Ministry of Culture published a list of authorised Islmanic hairstyles for men. No more mohawks, mullets, visible gel, spikes or ponytails!
This made young people angry, and so was born the Facebook group MooFerferia (curly hair). The Iranian norms concern straight hair, but nobody can do much about curly hair, right? The government wants straight and controllable things, but they can't actually straighten hair. Aha, a loophole!
So now there are gatherings in parks in Tehran, which infuriate the authorities, but no laws are being broken. When they tell the curly heads to disperse, they disperse -- and then regroup elsewhere.
As strict and repressive as Iran is, I have the impression that it is a terrific country full of wonderful people. Therefore, the regime will not last forever -- we just need to be a bit patient.
If you are Iranian and want to join the curly hair Facebook group, here is the link: www.facebook.com/MooFerferia
