Some of the curls were thrusting out of the obligatory veil, but last week on 1 Bahman 1389 (21 January) Iranians with curly hair staged a great gathering in Tehran’s Mellat Park in celebration of the glory of their hair. The result is this great...
Six months ago Iran’s government outlawed decadent Western hair cuts for men --- ponytails and, at the other extreme, spiky crowns. Guidelines were issued in the form of a catalogue of acceptable styles. Now another dress code has been sent to...
Italian investigative journalist Emilio Casalini has made a documentary film, Iran About, focusing on Iranians and their lack of freedom. Featuring nine interviews in silhouette, the film points to aspects of everyday life that are taken for...
Two weeks ago I wrote of Tehran Bus Workers' Union treasurer Reza Shahabi, eight days into a dry hunger strike (nil by mouth) at Evin Prison. Shahabi's demand for basic rights for he and his fellow workers in the first instance and for justice with...
Mourning means different things to different people. Even within one culture. But the month of Moharram, (7 December–4 January) the first month of the Islamic Calendar with its decrees and limitations is interpreted beyond the letter in Iran. To...
Iran’s oldest gallery of contemporary art is under threat of closure. Tehran’s Seyhoun Gallery opened its doors in 1966, showcasing, launching and establishing many of Iran’s prominent 20th-century artists. Founded by the painter Massoumeh Seyhoun,...
A group of Iranian exiled Iranian writers has written an open letter calling for the release of Julian Assange: آزادی بیان مهمترین رکن یک جامعهی دموکراتیک آزادی بیان دستآورد سالها مبارزهی آزادیخواهان جهان است. دولتهای کشورهای پیشرفته و...
No right to assembly or protest. As an independent trade unionist in Iran your actions are automatically illegitimate in the eyes of the state and for many carry a prison sentence. One such worker Reza Shahabi, treasurer of the Bus Workers’ Union...
Lawyers in Rome, Madrid, Paris, The Hague and Berlin will today protest against the wrongful imprisonment of their colleagues in Iran. On this the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, Iranian Embassies will be presented with a letter of...
Reading The Economist's Bagehot blog, earlier this week its writer's dismissal of Britain’s student protests with “The revolution will be along later” was resonant of the final analysis many made of Iran’s “Green” movement: despite the...
Index on Censorship today launches Iran Uncut, a special initiative to unearth and revitalise the plethora of archives of literary, artistic, photographic and other creative works by Iranians denied publication and expression in their homeland. Pen...