Chador in, hijab out: critics take aim at Iran leader Rowhani after vice-president swaps wardrobe at his request

Just a couple of weeks into her appointment, the new Iranian vice-president’s decision to abandon her fashion style for the all-encompassing black chador has raised questions among women in the Islamic Republic, especially after she said President Hassan Rowhani personally asked her to wear the traditional women’s garment. Although Laaya Joneidi typically used to wear a hijab – the headscarf that is mandated by law in today’s Iran – and a long coat with pants, her switch to the more conservative chador served as a political statement. And after Rowhani failed to nominate any women to serve as ministers in his cabinet, some have questioned the moderate cleric’s campaign promise to bring more women into the government. “Not only could Rowhani not appoint a woman minister, but also he could not appoint a vice-president who does not wear the chador either and forced her to wear the chador,” tweeted Hamid Mashayekhi Rad, an Islamic seminary student and activist. Iran opposition leader Karroubi ends hunger strike after agents leave home The controversy began when a government website posted a photograph of Joneidi, who earned a doctorate from Harvard in comparative law and international commercial arbitration, wearing the long black chador, exposing only her face. Social media exploded with posts referring to her as a “chadori”. The controversy only grew after Joneidi – one of two female vice-presidents in Rowhani’s new government – gave an interview to the reformist daily newspaper Sharq. “Mr Rowhani, because of the protocol of the cabinet, asked me to wear the chador,” she told the newspaper. “I respected his demand.” The criticism then found a target in Rowhani, whose re-election campaign promised women spots in his 18-minister cabinet. The cleric had no women ministers in his first term, and when he announced in August appointees for his second term, there were again no women among his picks. Qatar restores full diplomatic ties to Iran, in snub to Arab neighbours amid regional crisis The taboo was broken by Koulaii in the parliament, but it is not broken at the government level yet Soroush Farhadian The following day, Rowhani named two women as vice-presidents, including Joneidi. “Mr Rowhani, based on which law or your protocol forced Laaya Joneidi to wear the chador?” tweeted Amene Shirafkan, a journalist who works at Zanan-Emrooz magazine. The chador controversy underscores the unwritten protocol rules for those in public office and government in Iran – rules that also affect men. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif famously wore a goatee before entering Rowhani’s government, but later grew the full beard common for those in power. The chador has a long history in Iranian politics. The sisters of Shah Reza Pahlavi famously tossed theirs away in public in the 1930s, before it was outlawed. In the 1979 Islamic revolution, women who took to the streets to rally in support of the clerics embraced the chador. After the revolution installed the clerics in power, the hijab became law. In theory, women not wearing the chador are to wear baggy clothes and coats as to not accentuate their form. However, in Tehran today, some fashionable young women wear tighter clothes with a scarf loosely covering their head, technically meeting the requirements of the law while drawing the ire of conservatives. Morality police enforce the government-mandated Islamic dress code, while others have protested the requirement on social media. Women in government find it tougher to resist the demand to wear the chador. .@HassanRouhani appoints 3 #female #VicePresidents for #women, #family & legal affairs, & #civilrights https://t.co/drMJgpUbZS #LaayaJoneidi pic.twitter.com/0HylnTt2p9 — IranianWIN (@IranianWin) August 10, 2017 Masoumeh Ebtekar famously gave up her style for a chador when she became a vice-president under former president Mohammad Khatami in 1997. In 2000, a lawmaker threatened to beat Elaheh Koulaii, a hijab-wearing lawmaker from Tehran, if she did not wear a chador. She stood her ground and refused. Soroush Farhadian, a Tehran-based political analyst who backs reformists, said not wearing a chador remains taboo in Iranian politics. By asking Joneidi to wear one, Rowhani was trying to avoid a confrontation with hardliners, he said. “The taboo was broken by Koulaii in the parliament, but it is not broken at the government level yet,” Farhadian said.

Chador in, hijab out: critics take aim at Iran leader Rowhani after vice-president swaps wardrobe at his request

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Laaya Joneidi typically used to wear a hijab and a long coat with pants, but switched to the more conservative chador

Laaya Joneidi typically used to wear a hijab and a long coat with pants, but switched to the more conservative chador