Government Approved Haircuts in Iran

An Iranian official talks about men's haircuts to an audience in the grooming business. Reuters

A recent New York Times article reminds us how extensive the government’s influence is in Iranian society. A “haircut catalog” was published by the Ministry of Culture outlining the types of haircuts appropriate for men in the Islamic republic, and impermissible haircuts, which generally represent a strong “Western” style. According to the article,

The haircut catalog is part of the Iranian government’s long-running battle against Western cultural influence. Every summer, the country’s morality police renew their crackdown on ‘un-Islamic’ dress and styles, including loose veils on women and long hair or ponytails on men.

Jaleh Khodayar, a member of the Ministry of Culture, told the semiofficial ILNA news agency:

We do not intend to reverse the culture…we want to preserve our culture and respect Iranian tradition and come up with hairstyles that confront Western cultural invasion.

These acts to fortify Iranian culture, which demonstrate a widespread control over daily life, are met with resentment by many young individuals in Iran who prefer to make these decisions without the government’s input. What do you make of this? Is there a similar example of this kind of government-cum-cultural arbiter role in other countries?

Click here to read the article on the New York Times website.

RW3 CultureWizard