Before going to Iran I was completely obsessed about wearing the hijab.  I had no problem about “having” to wear it but I was concerned about the practicalities.  How would I get it to stay on?  What happens if it falls off?  What if it accidently slips and shows some skin?  It’s going to be too hot – I will melt.

Because I was so nervous I bought a ready made hijab and dutifully put it on before getting off the plane.  I thought it would be perfect as it completely covered my hair and was very tight (and 100% synthetic). I got my Tours of Iran driver/guide to help me with hijab shopping.  By the end of my time in Iran I had a wonderful collection of beautiful, bright, light, 100% cotton hijabs.

I soon discovered one of the easiest ways to tell tourists from Iranians was the way they wore hijab.  Iranian women invariably look elegant with their hijab casually thrown over their hair and across their shoulder where it seems to stay, effortlessly.  Tourists, on the other hands, have theirs firmly attached with hair clips and safety pins or, if not, they are constantly trying to keep it in place.  Take my advice – use the hair clips and pins – they work.  Once I had mastered this art I was extremely comfortable and confident that all would be well.  I was not too hot; in fact, I think it offered protection from the sun.  The one time I walked out of my hotel room and was half way to breakfast before I realized I wasn’t wearing my hijab the hotel staff just laughed at my apologies and said “don’t worry”.  On the couple of occasions, I knocked it out of place the only person worried about it was me.

Iranian women are extremely relaxed in how they wear their hijab.  There is no problem about showing quite a lot of hair at the front and some women even have long hair showing after the hijab stops at the back.  It seems to be fine to have a small amount of neck showing at the front and there is certainly no restrictions on how bright and colorful they are.

Once I had relaxed into it my biggest problem was stopping myself from buying more and more beautiful scarves at very low prices.

The bottom line is you do have to wear it but it is not a big deal.  Relax and enjoy the wonders of Iran.