Iran International
Iran's state television is trying to overcome women’s unwillingness to vote in the March elections by changing its decades-long dress code for female presenters.
On Tuesday, Iran's state broadcaster (IRIB) took an uncommon step by featuring a female presenter wearing an outfit that deviated from the traditional dress code enforced on women in Iran. This attire has historically subjected many Iranian women to various forms of trouble, including being denied entry into government buildings.
Zhila (Jila) Sadeghi who hosted a morning program wore a cream-colored, tailored jacket over a long, frilly black skirt and a patterned headscarf of red, gold and cream, and lots of make-up which made her look very much like hijab-wearing women in some other countries of the region, particularly Turkey and Lebanon. In the past, she had mostly appeared on air wearing a chador.
Most female presenters wear a long black veil (chador) over a lighter colored headscarf that tightly covers their hair and neck. Others wear a less condoned outfit consisting of a long coat (manteau), wide-legged trousers and a large headscarf coming down to the chest to disguise their figures as much as possible. Make-up, particularly lipstick, is not tolerated.
Sadeghi's strikingly different attire, particularly given her reputation as a staunch regime advocate, made significant waves in Iranian media and social media. While the media in Tehran reported on IRIB's new approach without extensive commentary, presumably due to concerns about censorship, it did not escape the notice of social media users.
On social media, many users interpreted this move as a hypocritical attempt to portray a more favorable image of the regime's stance on hijab ahead of the elections, rather than a genuine shift in the regime's approach to the issue. Some pointed out that over the past year, authorities in Iran have shuttered numerous businesses, confiscated many vehicles, and harassed thousands of women over hijab-related issues, leading to the tragic deaths of two young women, Mahsa (Jina) Amini and Armita Geravand, both of whom sustained fatal head injuries from hijab enforcers.
Ali Ahmadnia, journalist, pointed out on Twitter that not long ago a woman wearing the same kind of outfit would be detained by hijab police and accused of being “the enemy’s foot soldier who wants to undermine religious beliefs”. “But now there is a TV host wearing a jacket suit on air. What things we have not witnessed!” he tweeted.
However, some observers stressed that a television host does not have the autonomy to decide her on-air appearance, suggesting that Sadeghi's attire must have been dictated or at least approved by individuals with significant decision-making authority within the organization or even the regime.
Iran is set to hold parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections on March 1, with the latter responsible for appointing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's successor. Authorities, including Khamenei, who have historically argued that high voter turnout is a testament to the regime's legitimacy, appear to be deeply concerned about the possibility of very low turnout in the upcoming elections.
Polls conducted so far indicate that turnout may even be lower than the 2020 parliamentary elections and 2021 presidential elections both of which set the lowest turnout records in the history of the Islamic Republic. Some estimates indicate a turnout as low as 10 percent.
Disillusioned with the regime’s claims of improving ordinary people’s lives, frustrated by lack of social and political freedoms and vast corruption, as well as harsh treatment of critics and dissidents, many Iranians have made up their minds not to vote in any elections again because they don’t expect their votes to change anything.
In his recent speeches Khamenei stressed the collective responsibility to mobilize the electorate.
Iranian missile attacks on the Kurdish region of Iraq, along with similar strikes on targets in Syria and Pakistan, have heightened concerns among Iranians that a war may erupt involving Iran at any moment.
While some Iranian pundits have suggested the possibility of a war between Iran and the United States within the next two years, other observers argue that such a scenario is unlikely unless there are exceptional circumstances. Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, has labeled Iran as the most significant regional security threat, coupled with Iranian proxy groups' daily attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Iran launching missile strikes on three countries in less than a day.
The Iranian currency, rial, has fell to its eight-month low against the US dollar this week, trading at 540,000 per dollar.
Pro-reform daily Setareh Sobh [Morning Star] on Wednesday directly linked the turmoil in the rising dollar exchange rate and the price of gold in Tehran to the prevailing geopolitical tensions.
According to the daily, diplomacy could be the only way to control the markets in Iran. However, with a war raging on in the region, and Iran playing a major part in the conflict, leaves little chance for diplomacy. In the meantime, the Iranian government has proven during the past three years that it is absolutely incapable of influencing the markets.
Meanwhile, Iranian economist Hossein Raghfar told Fararu website that the most vulnerable segments of the Iranian society are suffering more under the pressure of rising inflation. Prices of foodstuff have been rising exponentially during the past months.
The government's spokesman has acknowledged that the surge in prices is a direct result of military developments in the region. He pointed out that the US and its allies' airstrikes on the Houthis in Yemen have generated a feeling of insecurity in Iran, contributing to an overall atmosphere of instability. Nevertheless, Iranian Minister of Economy Ehsan Khandouzi asserted that the government is making every effort to manage the "price fluctuations."
Mohammad Kashtiarai, the Chairman of the Iranian Goldsmiths Trade Union has also told Khabar Online that the rising price of gold in Iran is the outcome of political developments in the region.
This sense of instability comes after years of a longer trend of uncertainty for Iranians, who no longer see a decent future for themselves and their children.
The sense of instability and insecurity is also reflected in a report by the presidential Office's Strategic Studies Center that painted an alarming picture of hopelessness among Iranians that leads to a flood of emigration. Former government spokesman Ali Rabiei has agreed with the report, highlighting that the main reason for the emigration of educated and skilled Iranians is the government's poor performance that has left no hope regarding the future of the country.
Rabiei wrote: "The report indicates that the underlying factors driving migration from Iran are not primarily economic or related to issues such as unemployment. The central issue is the lack of a clear vision for the country's future provided by the government." He further commented, "Today, immigration differs from the past. For example, when an Iranian chooses to move to Germany, it's not for political aspirations or business prospects. They are leaving solely because they no longer wish to reside in Iran. This is profoundly concerning."
Rabiei also warned that "Iran is the world's number one country in terms of wasting its human resources. He pointed out that the inclination to migrate among educated Iranians has risen from 23 percent in 2014 to 46 percent in 2021."