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Persian pleasures

You know girls just want to have fun. So you have to be a lucky lady growing up with sunny beaches nearby. And when there’s also a convertible car at you side, well, what’s there not to like? But hang on. This picture was not taken in California or Cornwall, not even in Dubai or Dubrovnik. This one is set in Iran in the 1960s - Persia at the time.

That makes things quite unbelievable. Not because of the car: a Herald, likely to be assembled by Autocars in Israel. What’s more: the political temperatures for ladies are not quite what they seemed to be here anymore, putting things really mildly. How about a ban on university? Or the possibility of being forced to marry at the age of 10? Or risking an execution for God knows what? It may still be sunny on Iran's beaches, but Persian pleasures seem further away then ever. For girls, at least.

Text: Jeroen Booij
 

Originally published on 17 October 2013

 

Published:
Tuesday May 28th, 2024
Allan
03 June 2024, 16:30
Persia was the second "French Riviera" in the 1920s through to the 1960s, for Europeans and others of the Gulf region. Sadly, the beginning of the end of the country's freedoms started back in 1953 when the C.I.A. assassinated the democratically elected President so the U.S. government could then replace him with a puppet President that was pro-foreign development. This led to a very strong, already-existing, overly zealous religiously-based opposition party to begin to expand its movement culminating in the 1977/78 new government that combined very strong beliefs with government without any separation of the two; which in turn led to intolerance and over-militarisation. In current times, as soon as young Iranian women board and take off to most destinations outside of Iran, and on certain airlines, under most circumstances, their complete freedoms begin, and more often than not, then dress European. This governmental oppression is so sad; as all of the Iranians I have met are wonderful people. One can only hope the young people of Iran are able to change their government to something more pre-1950s and peace-loving.
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