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The Big Issue : Edition 436
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26 THebigissue24APR–7MAY2012 Iran Is a country where perception can distort reality. news reports about the Islamic republic tend to feature words like ‘hardliner’ and emphasise hostility to Israel and the West. The work of Iranian tourism officials, meanwhile, has probably not been made easier by the presentation of this year’s Best Picture Oscar to Argo, a movie that catapulted worldwide cinema audiences back to Tehran in 1980, a city in turmoil following the overthrow of the Shah. Thirty-two years later, in October 2012, a young Australian photographer flew into Iran. We’ll call him ‘Arash’, the name he uses in Iran. Some circumspection is called for here, firstly because Iranian authorities tend not to be enthusiastic about photojournalists (and there is more work he wants to do in Iran); and, secondly, because he was on an assignment of the heart – meeting the parents of his Iranian girlfriend, Maryam. After a month, Arash says, “I was left feeling a mixture of awe, confusion and heightened curiosity to learn more. Iran has a rich cultural history that stretches out for dynasties, leaving Australian history since colonisation seeming like a minor blip in the scheme of civilisation.” He was intrigued by differences in private and public lives in Iran. “My time was spent almost exclusively with my girlfriend’s family,” Arash says. “Our days were spent inside the homes of parents or cousins, where social freedom is similar to Western countries. In public, however, everyone must dress according to the laws of the Islamic government; laws which reflect a combination of religious and cultural traditions. For women, this means wearing headscarves and long clothes to conceal their hair and body shape. “For many Iranians, however, especially young adults and members of the urban middle class, such dress codes are often regarded with disdain; something that has been forced upon them by conservative society and the government. As the country inches towards more modern cultural attitudes, the battle for individual and social freedoms can be reflected in the way some young women interpret traditional outfits in a much more colourful manner.” During his stay, a typical day for Arash and his hosts would include “a few sessions of chatting over many cups of tea”. National and international politics would often be discussed, along with economic sanctions and the ever-diminishing value of the local currency, the rial – a topic reflecting the growing economic concerns of many Iranians. Outside, meanwhile, daily life goes on: a demurely dressed woman exercises in a park, people gather in cafes and children are picked up from school, while the same sun shines on everyone... tbi This page, from Top MaryaM’s great uncle picks poMegranates froM a tree inside his holiday hoMe in the faMily’s ancestral village, central iran; MaryaM prepares her hijab before having her portrait taken in a photo studio; niloo and elhaM sMoke cigarettes outside a cafe during a break between university classes; MaryaM with her cousins and aunt look over their great uncle’s faMily photo albuMs opposiTe page, from Top young iranian woMen socialise in a shisha cafe located in the Market surrounding jaMeh Mosque in isfahan; woMen walk through the streets in a southern area of tehran
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