From Miniskirt to Hijab: A Girl in Revolutionary Iran

Our social studies teacher emphasized that religion and politics were inseparable and that religious leaders were the most suitable candidates to rule over the people. My Persian literature teacher’s first assignment for our class was for us to write about the gift of the revolution and how it had enhanced our lives.

The synagogue served as a gathering place to share the most reliable, latest news about the community. Dad was surprised to hear that most of those who remained were considering leaving or had plans to leave despite the many challenges of emigration. One had to abandon businesses, property, homes, personal belongings, and leave friends and, often, family members.

Everyone I knew was upset by the law. Ironically, the next day, March 8, was International Women’s Day. Emboldened by the efficacy of recent strikes and demonstrations, some Iranian women from all spheres of life, including nurses, teachers, mothers, and students, took to the streets.

Queen Farah was as elegant as ever, dressed in a long coat, high-heeled boots, and a fur hat. She looked straight ahead, and her posture was straight. Only her face revealed her confusion and distress, as she held back tears.

The Shah had finally succumbed to the people’s will and left the nation that two Pahlavi monarchs, father and son, had ruled for the past fifty-four years. On that day, 2,500 years of monarchy in Iran had ended.

Meanwhile, Dad and I spent our days standing for hours in long lines for the rationed kerosene at the kerosene distribution center a few blocks from our home.

During the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Jewish Day of Atonement) the courtyard was tented and used to accommodate the overflow crowds. Our neighborhood had one of the highest concentrations of Jewish families in Tehran, and the synagogue was one of the city’s largest.

For many years, every day on my way to school, I had passed this building. At least a few hundred people lived there. Families with young children. Families just like mine. No one could have survived the conflagration. I felt blessed that my distance from the unfortunate target prevented me from hearing the victims’ agonizing cries for help.

Iran remains a country of contradictions between conservative values and modernity. With the advent of social media, smartphones, and other technologies, the youth of Iran are connected to the global community and demand more freedom and opportunities. The mandatory hijab for women and girls has relaxed to include lighter colors and a head covering that, for some, veils most but not all of the hair, and the use of cosmetics.

Never, until this moment, had I realized that the quality of one’s life far surpasses the quantity of one’s possessions.