This is where it all started: staying with locals we found that we, as women, wanted to analyze the situation of women in different countries.
The journey
Our journey on this investigation started with a guy called Ali from Teheran, whom we met in Hornsjoe the last summer, and he introduced us to his friends Sara, Amin and their son, who became our hosts. While staying with them, we began to realize the real local life for women and difference between the public and the private space.
We found out that there are women like Sara, who see religion more traditionally. She doesn’t want to show her hair to other men unless it is her husband and there are women, like her friends, who prefer not to were hijab whenever they can. In fact, if they could choose, they wouldn’t wear the hijab in private or public space.
Teaching and learning English
Another impressive woman we met was Pooneh, who hosted us in Isfahan with her husband, Bijan in their small apartment. She became our sister as we are quite like-minded: young, curious about our lives and lifestyle. She even took us a day off work to spend time with us and show us her workplace. Inside the center, they were not wearing the hijab. They didn’t even want us to wear the scarf around our neck.
The primary motivation for many of these women to learn English was that their children had moved outside of Iran and married foreigners. They were really curious about our personal lives. Their were asking question about family, boyfriends, marriage, food and many other things. Even if we would be interested marrying an Iranian man. One of them offered her brother! We are still in contact with Pooneh.
Kerman Desert
While we where traveling Iran in Kerman Desert. There we met two women: Mina and the manager of our hostel. Mina was a young married woman that was traveling with her husband. She is an English teacher and as we found out a rebel in the Iranian system: she loves to dance…and they took us to dance in the desert. It is the only place where there are no people around so we could be free to dance and to go without hijab.
The manager of our hostel was an elder woman and the only member of this family business that spoke English. She was very kind to us, and she was managing the hole hostel by herself with the help of her daughters. She was a Strong Independent Woman in a men’s society.
Shiraz
In Shiraz, we met Arezoo and her daughter Ava. Arezoo who is in her late 20’s, studies to become a nurse while taking care of her seven-year-old daughter. Both of them are living alone in an apartment. It’s very unusual as she is a single mother and women only live with their husband or their family. In the private area, she is free as most of her friends are men and she can hang out with them openly.
Traveling Iran, we were overwhelmed by people’s hospitality and their kindness. Also, we were happily surprised to find Iran to be safe, breaking the perceptions we had before going. We realized that the government and the people of Iran are opposites: the values of the Government are not always reflected on what the people’s values are. In fact, we didn’t meet anyone who was happy with the Government.
Anna, Cassandra, Daniela and Aina FWP
