INSIDE IRAN INSIDE IRAN Editor Louisa Tang
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GO-FAR 2016: INSIDE IRAN INSIDE IRAN Editor Louisa Tang Managing Editor Sharanya Pillai Design Editors Breaking Free Business Ventures Chong Kai Yan Clifford Lee 8 A nose for plastic surgery Staying to start up 54 Photo Editor Jim Chan 12 Filmmakers highlight social issues Gaming goes global 58 Designers Pang Xue Qiang Sherry Wong 14 Change is brewing A ”halal” Internet 62 Wu Bingyu Liew Yu Wei 18 Women find their style A glut of engineers 64 Copy Editors Aqil Haziq Mahmud All text, photos, illustrations, Matthew Mohan layouts © 2016 Go-Far Team Nicholas Tan Emily Joosten All rights reserved. No part of this pro- Asyraf Kamil Beneath the Layers Secrets & Lies duction may be reproduced or transm- mitted in any form or by any means, Instructors Life in a Shia seminary Youths live and love in secret electronic or mechanical, including Hedwig Alfred 24 70 photocopy, recording, or any information Samuel He storage and retrieval system, without No guides, no problem No women allowed prior permission in writing 28 74 from the publisher. 30 World Heritage surprise Female fighters go underground 76 First published in 2016 ISBN 978-981-11-1685-8 A sumptuous spread Dog owners on a tight leash 34 78 The Go-Far Team would like to thank the Brains and brawn in the ring Wee Kim Wee Legacy Fund, 36 Shinnyo-en Foundation, Prof Alan Chan, Lessons from ancient warriors Prof Charles Salmon 40 @iraninlove and non-resident Ambassador to Iran 82 Ong Keng Yong. On the brink of extinction 46 The team Wee Kim Wee School of 84 Communication and Information Nanyang Technological University 31 Nanyang Link Singapore 637718 www.wkwsci.ntu.edu.sg For more, visit gofar.sg & facebook.com/wkwsci.gofar 2 3 The view from Milad Tower in TEHRAN, 24 Sep Sio-se-pol Bridge in ISFAHAN, 27 Sep lifting the VEIL on IRAN Following the lifting of nuclear-related economic sanctions in January, Iran was the top choice as a destination for Go-Far 2016, and the programme’s first in the Middle East. For more than three decades, the Islamic Republic has struggled under sanctions im- posed by the United States, the European Union and several other countries to deter its nuclear programme. And the scars remain, from anti-American murals on buildings to five-star hotels that have not been renovated since the revolution in 1979. While some sanctions remain, the oil-rich nation’s economy — the second largest in the region — is opening up to international investment and trade. Singapore signed a land- mark bilateral investment treaty with Iran in March, and several Singaporean companies are keen to do business there. Go-Far reporters spoke to Iranian startup entrepreneurs, gaming companies and engineers to uncover the state of their industries. Meanwhile, Iranians are finding ways to connect with the outside world, from spending hours on social media to hosting backpacking visitors in their homes. We found many fighting what they believe are unnecessary, restrictive rules — a common thread in some of our stories on frowned-upon tattoo artists, dancers, dog owners and couples in love. We balanced our reporting duties with discovering the charms of old — and new — Persia. In 10 days we covered four major cities, from modern Tehran to stunning Isfahan; from desert city Yazd to green Shiraz. We marvelled at centuries-old mosques, battled the congested roads and public transport, and met many welcoming and warm Iranians. Stories aside, the wealth of material for pictures and videos astounded us. Go on our Facebook page to see the Middle East’s biggest skate park in Tehran, and watch how tradi- tional Shia Islamic practices are carried out in Yazd’s old town. Because mainstream news on Iran has largely been about sanctions or nuclear weapons, there was some apprehension about going there. But our preconceived notions were scup- pered in our time there. We hope that by reading Inside Iran, yours will be too. Louisa Tang Editor Preparing for the Day of Ashura in YAZD, 30 Sep Nasir-ol Molk Mosque in SHIRAZ, 1 Oct 4 5 BREAKING FREE Think of Iran and religious, conservative, stifled come to mind. But not all Iranians live like that. Read how they are finding ways around the regulations, changing cultural norms and doing things their way. FREEBREAKING GRAPHIC BY LYDIA TAN A nose for plastic surgery High school students Sana Haddadi (left) and Sanaz Zahdian, both 18, got their nose jobs recently. They are part of the rhinoplasty craze sweeping Iran; other forms of cosmetic procedures, such as breast augmentation, are also on the rise. STORY BY LOUISA TANG PHOTOS BY LIEW YU WEI & WU BINGYU 9 oing under the knife once was not cided to take the plunge as well. He was just Genough for Ms Parvane Reboushe. 20 at the time, and even toyed with the idea She is getting a second nose job to lift the of getting lip augmentation to make his lips tip of her nose, and more surgery to lift her fuller before being dissuaded by his friends. “droopy” eyelid. “Years ago, there were many red lines for The 36-year-old sales manager, who had men in Iran — traditional thoughts like a her first cosmetic procedure in 2014, said: “I man should be a man, and men don’t need didn’t like the form of my nose. I thought it beauty. Now, there are no more red lines be- was ugly. cause of the Internet and being able to take “But, I think there is no difference between many trips to other countries,” he said. my old and new nose now, so I am willing to Surgery fees have also dropped, Mr Iran- pay to change it again.” mehr added. His plastic surgeon now charg- Ms Reboushe is among the thousands es half the amount he paid (S$2,200) for his of Iranians fuelling the cosmetic surgery nose job nine years ago. boom. Although official figures do not- in Dr Hafezi said prices have fallen as more clude operations by non-specialist surgeons, doctors specialise in plastic surgery to meet a 2016 AFP report says up to 40,000 cos- the growing demand. He estimates there are metic surgeries take place yearly. Nose jobs 50 times more plastic surgeons now than make up more than 60 per cent of them. two decades ago, when he began working. In 2013, the International Society of Aes- He charges about S$6,800 for a nose job thetic Plastic Surgery reported that Iran in Tehran, which has become known as the ranked fourth worldwide for nose jobs, after “nose job capital of the world”. Some sur- Brazil, Mexico and the United States. geons charge as little as S$1,000, he said. Rhinoplasty specialist Dr Farhad Hafezi “So many of these surgeons are unlicensed, operates on about 15 noses every month — but people go to them because they adver- significantly more than the four or five done tise much cheaper rates,” he added. The by rhinoplasty surgeons in other countries, Guardian reported in 2013 there are only like plastic surgery-obsessed South Korea, 167 licensed plastic surgeons in Tehran, he said. compared to 7,000 unlicensed ones. He attributes the demand to a growing It does not stop at noses. Other cosmetic population and the emphasis on facial beau- procedures, Dr Hafezi said, such as Botox Ms Reboushe got a nose job in 2014 and will undergo the knife again in 2017. ty in the conservative Islamic Republic, injections and breast augmentation, are on where women are required to don head- the rise too. scarves and wear modest clothing in public. Ms Mariam Yasinzadi, 26, lost about 50 “There is only one thing women can high- kilograms after going on hormone treat- light about themselves: their face. And the ment, but her weight loss posed a new prob- nose is in the centre of it. Middle Eastern lem. Her breasts became smaller and this noses are big, with humps. Iranians don’t “depressed” her enough to seek surgery to like that,” Dr Hafezi said. enhance them. Women typically want a smaller and In 2016 alone, she said she knew of eight straighter nose, he added. One of them is women who also underwent breast surgery. Ms Mona Abedeni, 31, who got a nose job “Even though we need to cover up in public, when she was 22. Her nose was “a little too we want to look sexy at parties and weddings. big” for her face, she said, which affected her Iranian men like this,” the clinician said. self-confidence. Despite the increasing trend, many Irani- “I remember telling the doctor: ‘I don’t ans — including those who have had plas- want a very small or upright tip, just some- tic surgery — lament how it has taken over thing natural.’ Finally he asked: ‘Okay, what their fellow countrymen and women. do you want?’ He promised to make it natu- “When you start from the nose, you have ral enough and he did,” she said. to do Botox for your cheeks, then increase Even though we need to cover Ms Reboushe said: “Iranian women and the size of your lips. It’s like a chain reac- men are very eager to have a new nose. They tion,” Ms Yasinzadi said. up in public, we want to look like to take care of a beautiful face.” Mr Iranmehr added that many people now While women aged 18 to 22 are primari- do not believe he had a nose job, simply be- sexy at parties and weddings.