Pollution at the Bazaar

Pollution at the Bazaar
Greetings from the other side

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Impressions - Things I Liked About Iran

I liked the way taxi drivers would insist on giving money back, saying that we were paying them too much. I went to a kind ear doctor who refused my payment and has apparently been treating my aunt for free for the past ten years. Money did not seem to be the bottom line the way it is in the US.

I liked not seeing women's bodies all over billboards, magazine covers, and on the sides of buses as I do in the West. I enjoyed seeing beautiful women not wearing any make-up on Iranian TV soap operas.

I liked seeing women being powerful despite the limiting laws against them - women participating in all aspects of society from being doctors, professors and lawyers to serving in parliament and driving cabs. Even though the government has some very unfair and dangerous laws pertaining to women (please see the laws against women tab on the right), 63% of university students in Iran are women and 11% of parliament is female - as opposed to neighboring countries like Afghanistan where it is hard for women to go to school and in Saudi Arabia where women are not allowed to drive or vote. Iran, as an Islamic theocracy, requires head covering but it could be just a "roosari", which means a scarf, or for the more religious a full chador which looks like a sheet but shows the face (as opposed to the "burkha which is more common in North African Arab countries and covers the face).

I liked how emotional and affectionate the men were with each other (men often openly cried) and how sisterly the women were with each other. Since I don't drink, it was also very relaxing for me not to have to be around people drinking alcohol while socializing.

My favorite part was the open-heartedness of the people. It was not uncommon to have someone sitting across from me at dinner suddenly say to me in English " I like you!" If I ever complimented a person on something, the person would try to give it to me as a gift.

In all, it was such an important trip for me and I am grateful to all of my family who helped me make this trip possible.

Loving You from Eric Feldman & Leyla Modirzadeh on Vimeo.

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