Iranian men have been warned: jeans can make you infertile because they cause you to overheat. At least this is the opinion expressed by a young man in an interview aired on Iran’s state television this month.
Ali Akbar Rafiepour was introduced as a “public speaker and strategist”. His views, relayed by YouTube and Facebook, met with ridicule from Iranians at home and abroad.
What Iranians wear is a politically charged issue every sweltering summer, when the number of Islamic “morality police” on the streets is beefed up to ensure those wearing lighter clothing comply with the country’s strict dress codes.
This year their ranks have swelled ominously, with 70,000 police officers deployed on fashion duty in Tehran, the state news agency, IRNA said.
The annual crackdown has traditionally targeted women. The authorities derogatorily brand as “mannequins” those who flout the rules by thrusting back their obligatory headscarves, wearing a dash of make-up or flashing a bit of ankle.
But every year throws up new twists. This summer men have been banned from sporting necklaces and other “bling”. Last year, Iran published a catalogue of permissible “Islamic” hairstyles for men; a dab of gel is acceptable but ponytails and a spiked style known locally as the “rooster” are blacklisted.
