Veiled Politics

Zephie Begolo discusses the symbolic power of the veil in Iranian politics, and its consequences for women, before and during the Islamic Revolution.

Zephie Begolo | Published in History Today

On May 19th 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, speaking to a crowd marking the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad’s daughter, declared that henceforth Iranian Women’s Day would be celebrated on this date. It was because of Iran’s women, clad in their black chadors, that men poured into the streets to topple Mohammad Reza Shah. The chador, a full-length, typically black garment that covers a woman’s body from head to foot, has become one of the most potent symbols of the Islamic movement, serving as an almost poetic metaphor for the defences that closed around Iran in the wake of the Revolution.

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