[DemolitionRed]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

From what I know of it it's sort of flipped and flopped between the two? Periods of being quite liberal followed by periods of extreme conservatism, and then back the other way again. It must be such a confusing way to live for many people. From what I've seen on other forums (from liberal people who live there) there's also a bit of a dual-world going on, with things like people hosting private parties where you can wear / eat / drink what you want but women have to travel there "in disguise". Also married couples who live a very equal / "normal" (by western standards) existence at home basically having to fake a different relationship dynamic when in public, and again, people who have lived through various eras saying how easy it is to "forget" and slip up in public sometimes (public affection, etc.).

I don't think it's too late for the country to flip back "the right way" and hopefully maintain it, though . Hope not, anyway.

Its much tougher on some of the older generation because they were raised and lived a very liberated, cosmopolitan lifestyle up until the fall of the Shah. The problem back then was, there was mass poverty and a lot of corruption. It certainly wasn't all roses for the mass majority of Persians, so when the revolution happened, people celebrated.

The problem for the Iranian regime in the here and now is, many people long for things to be back how they previously were and persistently flaunt the rules. Most Iranian women that travel to the West won't continue to cover themselves. They only do so in Iran because its the law of the land.

I would love to go back to Iran with my son because I would love him to see what a beautiful country it is, but I doubt its going to happen anytime soon.