Iran eases its social strictures

"In this disgraceful event, which was like a large street party, [girls and boys] mocked Muslims' beliefs and sanctities in the most shameless manner," the newspaper wrote, according to Reuters. "Some long-haired guys would openly cuddle girls creating awful immoral scenes. Fast, provocative music ... nearby gave the street party more steam." Hard-line vigilantes broke up that gathering in affluent north Tehran.

But the hard line can appear unexpectedly as well. One young woman recalls how she was prevented last fall from flying from Tehran to London because, beneath her long black manteau robe, she was not wearing socks.

The woman, who asked not to be named, usually wears mascara, plucks her eyebrows, and even kisses male friends on the cheek when meeting on the street - an extraordinary risk, even now. But she had taken the precaution of looking as conservative as possible for the airport exit.

"This is the Iran we live in - they are so rude," she says. Female airport officials slapped on handcuffs and took her to a nearby court to sign documents.

"Where does it say in the Koran you must wear socks?" the woman asked, incredulous.

"You're going to say you are sorry, in court," came the uncompromising reply. The young culprit with the bare ankles was given a choice of punishments: $150 fine, 100 lashings, or two months in prison. Her mother arrived to bail her out - uncharacteristically dressed in a full black chador and wearing no makeup - and pleaded that the family (though actually well-to-do) "did not have enough money for socks," and were "a Basiji family" - staunch supporters of the revolution.

She paid in cash - and became another example of the deep conservatism underlying the current social permissiveness on the streets.

Indeed, just as some conservatives have lowered their sights, in terms of molding a restive population, many youths have also adjusted their expectations in a grudging acknowledgement, even accommodation, of hard-line forces in Iran.

Among the newly tempered youths is Alireza Mahfouzian, a 25-year-old whom the Monitor first met five years ago on ski slopes of Dizin, not far from Tehran.

Back then, he was pushing the envelope, putting his arm around the shoulders of his then-girlfriend, Golnar, and even giving her a quick kiss before they sliced their way down the snowpack.

Many girlfriends later, and now running an interior-decoration business that puts him in contact with typical Iranians, Mr. Mahfouzian is a changed man. He remains a party animal, just a more circumspect one.

"We must realize we live in an Islamic country - we should accept that the [leaders] have their own tools to push," says the heavyset Mahfouzian, stroking a close-trimmed goatee. "I understand this is their way of imposing power."

The Khatami era has meant that "freedom has been translated into the streets,"with far fewer roadblocks, where the Basiji [hard-line militia volunteers] these days are "so polite," he says, compared to a decade ago when "they were violent."

But he understands the limits: A decade ago, he was caught during a raid at a family party where alcohol was served. He received 75 lashes in punishment.

Friends told him to take photos of his lacerated back and use them to apply for political asylum.

"I was very angry for a year. I thought: 'Why do they use this violent, old-fashioned way [of punishment]?' " says Mahfouzian. "Why do we have such laws? And why do we have such people to carry them out?"

"I went through this dark period - I tried to leave everything behind, to turn my back on the country and try to go to America," the young man says, noting that the lashings, family bankruptcy, and love problems prompted a period of "crazy" moves that included becoming the youngest Iranian to get a parachuting certification.

"Then I came to my senses," he goes on. "I like this place, and want to live here. So I had to adapt myself and accept certain things."

Iranian youths who refuse even to acknowledge that hard-liners play such a decisive role in Iranian society - for better or worse - have "inexperienced" views, he says, "not based on reality."

"You must decide: Will you grow up and adjust? Or stay reckless and destructive?" says Mahfouzian. "Not all rightists are bad, and not all the leftists [reformers] are good.

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