The dress code issue for women in Iran has always been a hold back for many female travelers. Many believe that countries that enforce such laws on tourists or even their own civilians are to be left out of their bucket list. Others however are just confused.
Iran faces a hell lot of misrepresentation around the world which unfortunately is not always directed to its government only. Many times it’s the locals that are misrepresented. There’s no travel blogger who has visited Iran and hasn’t written about how he was surprised to see things where not as he imagined. By almost a 100% chance he’ll write about how Iranians were super nice and one of the most hospitable nations he has met. Sadly almost everyone is just shocked into knowing how Iranians are just “people” and the worst part is that people have to come all the way to here to realize this and not that many do.
The blogger or tourist is obviously not to blame. What he/she knows of Iran and Iranians is the horrible media coverage and the representation of films like Not without my daughter and Argo. I mean if the film gets all that attention and wins an oscar, you’d think it’s probably pretty accurate. right? NOT!
I get that what goes on in Iran might not come to your liking. Iran is a country facing a lot of big changes. A lot goes on here and certainly not all of it is good. The country has been struck by heavy sanctions since the Islamic Revolution over 35 years ago and things can get tough at times. Women have not been getting equal rights as men but they have become extremely assertive over the years and have been able to shift the society on their side dramatically. They occupy over 60% of university seats and have become very much socially active and economically independent over the years.