Having just returned from two weeks in Iran, I would like to offer some comments about appropriate attire for women. Iranian law requires that heads and necks be covered and female bodies must be modestly covered to at least mid-thigh. All the women on our tour purchased a manteau (resembles a lab coat and comes in different fabrics and colours) and hijab (or scarf) on arrival. We found that we could wear anything – or nothing – on our upper bodies under the manteau. Loose pants or ankle-length skirts with no bare skin showing meant no critical looks from passersby. Bobby pins or safety pins ensured that scarves would stay draped. It was interesting to note that local women, especially the young ones, often showed a lot of hair and had their headscarves artfully wrapped around their heads. Their coats were often quite form-fitting. Their liberal use of makeup made us foreigners all look like frumps.

Pam, Toronto, Canada

When visiting Iran, women must wear the hijab (headscarf and modest dress) in public at all times. At a hotel in Tehran a sign in the lobby of the Homa hotel reads as follows: “In the name of God, respectful ladies are asked to observe the Islamic hijab and not to use cosmetics in public. Please use a scarf to cover your hair and neck. A long loose dress and dark stockings (or trousers). We wish you a nice trip.”

The hijab warning shouldn’t come as a surprise to visitors. To obtain a tourist visa from the Iranian embassy in Ottawa, Canadian women must first submit two photographs showing them wearing a headscarf. And they must be wearing it when the plane touches down in Tehran.

Martin Regg Cohn, chief of the Toronto Star’s Middle East bureau

I found this Reuters news item about culturally correct clothing and behaviour in Iran in our local paper (October 12, 2007). I thought it would be helpful for women travelling to Iran to understand this. ‘ Iranian police have warned 122,000 people, mostly women, about flouting strict Islamic dress codes since April and nearly 7,000 of those attended classes on respecting the rules. Such crackdowns … are an annual event and usually last a few weeks. But this year’s measures have been longer and more severe than in recent years… In addition to the dress crackdown, the newspaper quoted a Tehran police commander as saying 482 people were arrested for taking part in mixed parties. Men and women are not allowed to mix at close quarters in Iran, unless they are family members.’

Beverly, Winnipeg, Canada (2007)