The Iranian Chador

KHIL{A 1 (2005), pp. 139-158 THE IRANIAN CHADOR Gillian VOGELSANG-EASTWOOD Textile Research Centre, Leiden (TRC)/ National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden Introduction The aim of this article1 is to present some back- ground information on the main types of chador 1 I should like to thank the following people for their help worn by women in Iran during the twentieth in the preparation of this article, namely: Leo and Sohar century.2 The study is divided into two sections. Barjesteh, Mohandes M.R. Khosrovani and Mrs. F. Khosrovani-Pishvai who have constantly supported, encour- The first (A) is a general discussion of the history aged, and offered advise throughout the period of our field- of the Iranian chador, and more specifically its role work. Thanks also needs to go to the staff of the Cultural in twentieth century Iranian politics. This is fol- Heritage Organisation, Tehran; the staff of the Dutch lowed (B) by a description of the various types of Embassy, Tehran, especially C. Breedvelt; the past and present ambassador of the Iranian Embassy in The Hague for chador based in the main on the garments now their support; the staff of Thunder Tours, Tehran, and finally, housed in the collection of the Textile Research the staff of the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden. Centre, Leiden.3 The article ends with a short note And last but not least, thanks needs to be said to Shell Iran (C) on the role of the chador in modern Iranian for their generous financial support for our project. 2 Care should be taken with the term chador as in recent years society. there has been a tendency to describe an ankle length gar- It should be stressed at this point that the ment closed down the front and with integrated headcov- concept of covering (almost) all of a woman's body ering and sleeves as a chador. This garment is worn by is not unique to Islam or indeed the Islamic world, Muslim women, usually from the Arab world (see www.alhediya.com/alhediya/chadab.html and www.modest- and certainly within the context of the Mesopotamia clothes.com/patterns_files/prayeroutfit.htm. Although, the and the Iranian Plateau it has clear pre-Islamic Iranian chador has a similar function to the Arab chador, roots.4 The use, for instance, of a mantle of some namely to cover a woman’s body, its construction and kind to cover the body when in public can be traced appearance is different. It is the Iranian version that is the subject of this article. Another example of the recent ‘con- back to at least ancient Mesopotamia in the second fusion’ in terminology can be seen when studying the millennium BC, although it is probably much older. chadari/Afghani burqa‘. The chadari is the subject of a One of the images that is often conjured up forthcoming digital exhibition on the website of the TRC, when discussing modern, Iranian life and culture is www.texdress.nl that of a street with Muslim women totally wrapped 3 The following study is based on fieldwork carried out by 5 Dr. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood (Textile Research Centre, up in black chadors (Fig. 1). This picture tends to Leiden) and Dr. Willem Vogelsang (National Museum of dominate as Western media frequently makes use of Ethnology, Leiden) in Iran between 1997 and 2000, and representations of such black-shrouded ‘ghosts'. But then revised with notes made during a trip to Iran in 2003. The main line of research being carried out at the time was is the chador really simply a black shroud? Or is a survey of regional and urban costume of Iran. This smaller there much more to this garment? study was undertaken in order to examine the role of an For the purpose of this study a chador is defined important, and ancient, item of Iranian clothing. Various as a length of material that is either rectangular or modern chadors are referred to in the following text; examples of most of them were made for the author in various more usually semi-circular in shape. It is normally Iranian bazaars. These chadors are now housed in the dress worn by draping it in such a way that it covers the collection of the Stichting Textile Research Centre (TRC), wearer's head and body. It can be worn either inside Leiden, The Netherlands. or outside the home. In Iran it is regarded by many 4 Lerner 1986, pp. 123-40; Vogelsang-Eastwood 1996, pp. 19-21. people as an important, if not essential, item of 5 A literary and symbolic history of the chador and related female clothing. As will be seen, the range of garments is presented in an article by A. Seyed-Gohrab in garments labelled as a chador, their functions and this journal. 139 Fig. 1: Postcard depicting black ‘shrouded’ figures under the watchful eye of Ayatollah Khomeini (TRC collection). 140 their general appearance have changed over time and place. Although the appearance of this garment may be relatively simple, its story is not. The wearing of the chador in Iran is usually asso- ciated with Islamic traditions based on the Koranic injunction that women had to cover their breasts and their ‘adornments’ and not to reveal themselves to males outside of the immediate family circle.6 In traditional Muslim circles it is felt that a female should cover her head, hair, neck, and to disguise or conceal the shape of her body when in public. The type of clothing that is regarded as Islamically correct is normally termed hijab. With respect to modern Iran, there are various types and levels of hijab clothing. Nowadays, most urban Iranian women can be divided into two groups, those who wear (a) a hood (maghneh) or a headscarf (rosari) under a chador, and (b) those who wear a headscarf (rosari) and coat (manteau) combination. The first group of women are regarded as traditionalists, while the second group are modernists. Older and more traditional women may also be seen wearing a black manteau, headscarf and chador. When an Iranian girl or woman starts to wear a suitable outer garment such as the chador, depends on various factors. According to Iranian law a girl becomes marriageable at the age of nine, and as such her head and body must be covered.7 Nevertheless, it has long been the practice for a girl Fig. 2: Young girl wearing a chador; Kashan Bazaar to start wearing some form of outer covering long (1998; photograph by the author). before this age. During the late nineteenth century, for instance, it was noted by the English traveller, Isabella Bishop nowadays it is normal for young girls to wear the that girls in Isfahan started to wear chadors at a maghneh, as part of their school uniform (Fig. 3).9 young age: “Girl-children begin to wear the chadar [sic] between two and three years old, and are as secluded as their mothers”.8 A similarly situation A. THE HISTORY OF THE CHADOR AND TWENTIETH occurs nowadays, and it was clear during our trips CENTURY IRANIAN POLITICS to various Iranian cities that the age when girls At the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the started to wear the chador varies quite considerably twentieth century a number of Middle Eastern (Fig. 2). Young children, for instance, around three countries, and in particular Turkey, Iran and later or four years old were seen manipulating these Egypt, embarked on reform programmes with the garments with considerable expertise. It should be borne in mind, however, that the wearing of these garments may be due to their prac- tical aspects in keeping the wearer cool and free from dirt while outdoors, rather than simply a 6 Sura 24:31. reflection of the religious attitudes of the parents. 7 Article 1043 of the Civil Code on child marriages. The main difference seems to lie in whether the 8 Bishop 1891, I, p. 215. 9 The official school uniform for girls in most parts of Iran girls are allowed to go out of the family home and is made up of a tunic, a pair of trousers, and a maghneh to appear in public or not. It should also be noted that cover the head and hair. 141 respect to the ban on the wearing of chadors and such like garments in public. The story behind the banning of the veil in Iran, and its return, is long and at times, bloody. Attempts had been made in the mid to late nineteenth century to ban the veiling of women, but it had little success at first; perhaps because the concept was regarded as simply too shocking. One of the earliest, nineteenth century examples of a woman unveiling herself in public came in the 1840's. The case involved the poet and religious teacher Tahereh Qorratol ‘Ayn (her real name was Fatemeh Baraghabi) who deliberately removed her veil as an act of protest against the position of women in Iranian society.10 Apparently when Tahereh unveiled herself, the “assembly was set in uproar”, many (men) left, some called her a heretic, and one man even cut his throat (bloody, but not fatal). It should be noted that in 1852 Tahereh was officially executed for her religious and social beliefs.11 One of the most outspoken activists in the early twentieth century for the banning of the veil was the poet and writer Mirzadeh Eshqi (1893-1924), who wrote an influential poem called Kafan-i Siyah (variously translated as “The Black Shroud” or Fig.

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