"In Iran, the government insists that all women wear it."
March 30, 2014 8:17 AM   Subscribe

Veiled Truths by Hossein Fatemi [New York Times] [ Photo essay.] Photographs of women in Iran — who still face censure for insufficiently modest dress — through their hijabs.
posted by Fizz (10 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
cause women's freedom is measured by the clothes they wear
posted by Sheila Nagig at 9:59 AM on March 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


Sheila Nagig - I'm confused as to the point you're making - is it that there is a tendency to focus only on the superficial when discussing the political situation of Muslim women, or that the hijab is not monolithically a symbol of women's oppression?
posted by univac at 10:25 AM on March 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


Clothes are certainly one measure of women's freedom as they are an important indicator of status and regard, and not at all superficial.
posted by Summer at 10:31 AM on March 30, 2014 [3 favorites]


Univac, yes and yes, this article reproduces the same logic that the Iranian clerics use, it just inverts it, replacing "modesty" with "freedom", while maintain the patriarchal premise that how a women's dresses is the business of everyone.

And it's not a coincidence that this article focuses on one of America's geopolitical rivals. You won't see NYTimes doing an article like this on Saudi Arabian women.
posted by Sheila Nagig at 10:41 AM on March 30, 2014 [8 favorites]


Actually, the NYT has run a few articles about women in Saudi Arabia and the restrictions on their ability to drive. Like this one.
posted by K.P. at 11:20 AM on March 30, 2014 [4 favorites]


Did she literally hang the fabric in front of the models, or is each one two shots layered up in Photoshop?
posted by w0mbat at 11:54 AM on March 30, 2014






Really nice portraits.
posted by valkane at 4:57 PM on March 30, 2014


These are absolutely stunning.
I really like the fact that the head scarves are hung in front of the women, and that Fatemi included women who prefer different styles of dress.

One thing these pictures do is illustrate the absolutely stunning range of beautiful patterns and materials in the the hijabs. I was given several hajabs by women friends in Turkey--most of which were either hand hemmed or have tatting on the edges. The types of material and finishing is very much tailored very much to the personality of the wearer. The women I knew--either Kurds or very poor and staunchly religious--would never have dreamed of going out without a head covering, and all of them were very eloquent in its use, indicating negation, flirting, hiding confusing, showing willingness--all by the way they manipulated the folds of cloth.
posted by BlueHorse at 6:51 PM on March 30, 2014


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