The motivation behind mandating school uniforms and specifically covering up all members of one particular gender is entirely different.
When you weren't at school, were you forced to wear your uniform or did you have the freedom to choose what to wear?
I think you entirely missed the point I was making. The Iranian regime commits some of the most heinous human rights violations in the whole world, and some lady goes on about how one of the worst effects of the revolution was the inability to wear Western dress. She's basically saying one of the drawbacks of the Iranian revolution is Iran's new inability to submit to Western cultural standards. Having a cultural dress code really isn't that big of a deal. If France wants to outlaw the burqa/niqab, then they should be allowed to. If Iran wants to ban the mini-skirt, then they should be allowed to as well. The issue is not about being forced to wear a certain article of clothing or not being allowed to wear a certain article of clothing, it's about the radical punishment that ensues when the law is disobeyed in the first place.
Unfortunately I cannot even remember who it was, or else I probably would've been posting a link and/or quoting directly myself. I think she was in some way linked to the Shah.
She specifically brought up the issue of being unable to wear Western clothing as the forefront negative of the revolution--both an insensitive and un-savvy thing to say. Typical case of not seeing the forest for the trees. Let me reiterate (or perhaps clarify); if someone says one of the worst effects of the revolution was the government mandated/imposed dress code that mitigated women's rights, I'd say yes, that's a good point. But when someone makes out the specific outlawing of Western dress as being one of the worst things, it just sounds like you're a vacuous patsy for the old regime. That was my issue with this thread. OP posts a picture that very strongly suggests that Western fashion is simply "superior", and that it offers some underlying degree of "liberation". I have an issue with that, which is why I brought up a couple of examples that show when that "liberation" can simply be a well-disguised strain of objectification.
If you haven't seen the movie Persopolis, if you watch it with an open mind it will make clear everything that the headscarf entailed and included in terms of cowing women after the Iranian revolution. The fundimental idea that women are delicate flowers thst need to be protected by men from objectification by other men is flawed. It renders them perpetual victims, alway acted upon, never the actors themselves.
"Let me reiterate (or perhaps clarify); if someone says one of the worst effects of the revolution was the government mandated/imposed dress code that mitigated women's rights, I'd say yes, that's a good point." You could replace the word "mitigate" with a stronger one and I'd agree still. Obviously, I don't think that the Iranian regime has any moral ground to stand on; a look at my posts in this thread will show what I think of them. It's the implication in the original post that Western dress is some mark of betterness that I find fault with, which is why I brought up the examples that I did.
I think you are making a mistake if you think you can seperate these things. Put on a military uniform and you will start to act like a soldier. Put on a prison jumpsuit and you will act like a prisoner. I'm sure if you go to Huntisville and ask what people don't like, they'll evetually make some crack about the silly orange jumpsuits. When they do, their very specific words will have a much broader meaning than a simple concern about colors clashing when taken in context.
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Your examples, in my opinion, depend more on how the person is being treated rather than what they are wearing.
What is interesting here is that they are both covered up, but in different ways. One with the hijab, and another culture with full on makeup,lipsticks, glasses, straightened hair, sometimes plastic surgery...I'd say its just as sad to see a culture where many girls feel judged that they can't go out without applying makeup, and all of that crap done to themselves to look beautiful. So its ultimately just a western version of a light hijab
You are quibbling over nothing or as you would say, garbage. First of all, this is probably a quote from right after the revolution. One of the first rules that were instituted were the rules on clothing so its not surprising that someone would complain about that. There wasn't a long history of repression at that point since the revolution just happened. Also many of the secular institutions such as universities, lower levels of government, etc.. hadn't been changed yet. Second, you're downplaying what clothing means. Clothing is arguably the strongest piece of expression that one has. When you see a person walking by, your perception of them in large part is a result of what they choose to wear. A guy in shabby clothes and someone in a new suit are looked at in two different ways. Clothing is speech. It is a choice that we make and it in large part defines the way in which we think and view ourselves. I realize that we take this for granted and do not really think about it, but I assure you that you too would be mad if overnight strict rules were permanently put into place. Third, we as individuals tend to focus on material effects that impact us personally. That's why we complain about things like internet censorship, clothing restrictions, restrictions on freedom of movement etc.. They DIRECTLY impact us as individuals. For example, Why do you think there is little to no anger in Singapore despite their less than ideal human rights record and their non-existent democracy? It's because the average person's day to day life is ok. Clothing restrictions are the opposite of this. They are a good way to piss off people by directly infringing in their day to day life. And comparing this to private school uniforms is laughable. You chose to go to private school and your family knew about uniforms when they signed up. Most people don't get to choose where they grow up. Moreover (and I think other people mentioned this) clothing restrictions are part of a broader policy of the permanent victimization of women in Iran which forms the subsequent justification for heavy handed restrictions of their rights. Clothing restrictions just represent the most obvious example of this trend and naturally would be the easiest thing to point out.
"The difference lies in how they are getting stoned tonight." Let's not kid ourselves. There are differences with the pressure being exerted by media, and the very real potential of violence. I may not agree with certain posters about their degree of fear towards Islam, but I certainly do not think Puritan repression of any stripe, especially enforced by violence, is healthy in any way.
