English cafe a place to eat s.th in English

[raha78]

Hijab

Should we consider it mandatory

Even pronouncingthe term itself is challenging enough to arouse a debate among the people who hearit especially if they are female. But why the issue is such complicated in oursociety?

Beforehand let'ssee what the history tells us. It was in 17 of Dey in 1314 when under the periodof Reza Shah Modernization, women were asked to remove Islamic veils and discardHijabin favor of Western dress. Reza Shah banned Chador and ordered all citizens -rich and poor - to bring their wives to public functions without head coverings.But in spite of what most people thinkIt was not the originthough years ago at the time of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, for the firsttime a woman removed her veil in presence of men. Later Women's rights movementin Iran began. Some women criticized the Hijab and called it a sign against modernity.

After the removal of RezaShah by British forces, women were permitted to wear traditional chadoralthough this time, except for a minority; it was the women who showed nointerest in wearing traditional dress and preferred the modern western outfit.

Following the 1357Revolution, several laws based on gender discrimination were established suchas the introduction of mandatory veiling and public dress code of females.

The history was repeated,but this time vice versa. The government forced women not to unveil their head.

In the mid of 60' that fewwomen tried to ignore the law by replacing Chadors with some type of overcoatscalled Manteau and wearing sheer stockings. At the time they were afraid ofbeing punished by the government. In the beginning of 70' the change in womendress became more apparent. Women started to use colorful Manteau instead ofblack which was the dominant color of women clothing.

In 1376 reformists won theelection and came to power, and not before long some rumors about abolishingmandatory Hijab law were heard for the first time after the Islamic revolution.

Gradually Manteaues becametighter and shorter, and nail polishing became popular again. Now, women were notafraid of the government anymore since reformist leaders' motto was to givewomen more freedom in every aspect.

In 1384 Islamic conservativeparty took the power again. The officials did not toleratethe way women wear clothing, and decided torevive Islamic laws concerning people behaviors in society in which Hijab was impliedtoo. They asked men and women to observe Islamic laws with what they choose wear,but the women resisted and the government was forced to use police power.

For a short period of time, and by the help ofpolice the women became more careful with their outfit, but the situation didnot last long.

What the government couldn’tdo was changing the mind and notion of people. Now a lot of people believe Wearing Hijab is not only a sign of modesty buta real hindrance toclimbing the social ladder, a badge of backwardness and a marker of class. On theother hand, wearing tight and sheer clothes like shortManteaues, supports and ultra-sheer stockings is considered a sign of highsocial class and enlightened thinking.