The theme of clothing and preoccupation with exterior representation continues to dominate every day Iranian existence. We’ve seen the sustained crackdown on individual expression for Iranian citizens extending to hairstyle and dyeing, eyebrow arrangement and even pet ownership. Women wearing nail polish (however neutral in colour) are not allowed in official buildings…The scenarios are too numerous and commonplace to mention and the list grows daily. This is the exterior world of Iran, experienced on the streets and in public places. The extreme opposite is found in people’s homes where visiting foreigners are always surprised to experience a perturbing level of hedonism among Iranian youth indulging in all the banned “vices” and modelling the latest, often risque, fashions.
Another parallel, less external, world persists, as hundreds remain incarcerated for unknown reasons and that list grows daily too. This month John Berger writes of us all as Fellow Prisoners, in a thought provoking and resonant piece.
In Iran, within that internal prison world and its horrors, clothing and attire is ever symbolic. Siavosh Jalilli has written The Girl in the Plastic Slippers, an authentic observation of the significance of foot apparel in the Islamic Republic’s Iran, on the occasion of the 27th birthday (last Sunday) of Pegah Ahangarani, arrested on 10 July.
The actress and documentary maker starred in a 1999 film The Girl with the Sneakers.
She was then The Girl in the Green Sneakers as she campaigned for a move towards freedom in the run up to the 2009 elections.
In this clip Pegah speaks to a large crowd, expressing hope for a reformist win and freedom for all. She says: “I am 24. In six years I’ll be 30. This is an important phase of my life. In this time I want to see change; for the films we’d like to see to be made, for the books we’d like to read to be published.”
Pegah joined fellow actresses and film makers Mahnaz Mohammadi and Marzieh Vafamehr, arrested last month, in ward 209 of Evin Prison.
Both Pegah Ahangarani and Mahnaz Mohammadi were released on bail on Wednesday following fierce criticism of Iran’s treatment of artists and human rights campaigners.
