.L.I1U .LU :~.lL..t:AJ.....
;,:~;,: 880 6707
he French writer Guy de
Mllupaasant described the
chador, the black head-to­
toe garment prescribed by
~
trac-ition for Islamic f~
males, OLe "de:uh out for II
walk....• Only the most reli­
pous wear it now, :md by
birth, Faczeh Hashemi­
Iran's most visible and eon­
trovenial woman-is both.
~ Yet Hashemi's chador naps
~ oyer blue jeans, a red shirt; and muddy
-,. ridin. boots.. "! always try to wear
., 'IJ son1ethin&, bri,ht underneath," she tells
'me, specifYing sneakers or "something
red." The juxtap... ~jtion is a bit neat. Per­
haps she thinks i. important to dress up
for the Western media. Perhaps she is
riKht.
"I like to do whatever I'm told that I
cannot do," Hashemi says. Her Ericsson
cdl phone plays ',,," Shave an&-. Haircut,
Two Bits" when ,t rings~nd!ller ehador_ ""'i,,~
whips in tho ",in.;i~nge.Yetshe isl
the revolution'sr.ug!ltet', and'that's parr
~~~;. reaso
S:1e can a!Tord to bc so
n Apri 4, Inm returned to the news
Oin&
as u: sions erupted between moder-
ate d repressive factions of the rul-
ic regime. The government's
Hez lIah guards patrolled Teheran,
wher thoroughfares once carried the
nlim s of Churchill and Roosevelt.
e conflict beJ;an when the city's
marOt, Oholamhosscin Karabaschi, a
$ymbol of reform. wu hastily impris­
oned on charges of embezzlement llnd
c~rruPIion, and denied counsel. Thou­
sands of demonstrators clashed while
Iran's supreme: spiritual leader. Ayatol.
lah Khamenei, traded words wilh mod­
'crate presidellt Mohammed Khatami. It
was the most p ... blic eonf"ontation since
the revolution which in 1979 swept the
foreign appellations from the deposed
Shah's avenUes and elevated the late Ay­
atollah Khon1eini to absolute power in a
.. Go....ernment 01" God."
The mayor found ~upport from
H.a.shemi, & (c1101~
Ppearances :>re erut.;a1 I . politicians.
an who
Faezch • d"ulUtter 0
ever hidd"" her face:­
onner ranlan
prc.sident Ali Akbar Rafsanjani. (Some
married womcn in Iran maintain their
maiden names 'mel pass them to their
dau&/1ters.) Huheml wo 16 when
i 1 Khomelni appointed Rllfsunjllni to the
First Revolutionary Council, Now, at
35. she Is har father's political heir. Two
days after the mayor's arrest, Hashemi
spranjt to his defense with a speech de-
raJ 003
livered at the Inlerior Ministry,
"Karabasehi's detention is aimed at
puttin~ pre~sure on the j£O....ernment of
Pre~ident Khatami and weakening it,"
she thundered, "Karbasehi has been a
member of !he Cabinet and cannot be
detained without the eoorc1ination of the
ministers and the president."
Like the mayor, Hashemi is a mem­
b"r of the Suvants of Reconstruction., a
group that opposes extremism. She is a
woman whom Westerners might label
her a bridge to the futurc. But she also
prCSllll:c:5 the second gencration of the
re....olulion and the milder, l=u repressive
leadership which its less fanatic and
most forward-thinking architects envi­
sioned as inc:vitable with tiT':le.
aezeh Hashemi became one of 13
~
M \.
F women in Iran's 270-sO:/lt parliament
following a hugely su(·"essful 1996
campaign in whicl1 she ""..s widely bll>
Iieved to ha....e received mu~e voles than
I \~_ L even the governing body's very promi­
~JC4.l\ (XlUL nent spe:sker, Ali Akbar Nl :.:q-Nouri, a
~~db~r.
'oI!IICl-.~
',' .~,
conservative who would c,-j:Jose Khata­
mi in the presidential elt ttion the fol­
lowing year.
'?::~. BUI Hashemi's popular;t>, at this time,
seems mainly an elCtenslon of her fll­
lh.:r'~, a point which some r.ight see u a
sli~1 to Hashemi's feminist pride. In the
Middle East, however, familial dynasties
arc common and help stabilize tho ever /'j
-' ehllnginlit political mix. Power is passed l
on I iice land. As is the case with Palc... ".
istan's BenllZir Bhutto, whose career has / ~~" ..
been inc:Atricably linked '" suspicions •
II;
sUIToundinll: her family'. plltriareh,
Hashemi cannot detach herself from her
64-year-old father's legacy She haa no
need to. Rafsanjani, neither pacifist nor \
.'i'"
blood-thirsty, is a white-turbaned cleric n
(meanin~ that lei a direct jlellCcndent t•
o rophel, Mohammt.dl RaflUlS,II'I-/
Jill1i survived because his more violent aI­
lies recolI\nized his devotion to the revo­
lution and because they ne:ded a. techno- ~
.:ral to hand~,:.~fidc::lsrdashemjmay ,
be simiiarlY~ *..<..t- p( ' .
A More so for Hashemi. ~Jolnen in her
eounuy arc not ~upposed to reveal
their rae.:s to strangers. and reporters
are askcd to refrotin from providinc
phy.ieal descriptions of female subjects.
Lut yc:::sr, however, Hashemi po.cd for
the cover of Zanun (Wom:n)' magazine
wearing a. herrincbone scarf under her
chador with her face clearly visible, Her
rebellions Ill&ainst many of the customs
that 'lovern her ~ are tolerated be­

causc ~,/lr father has earned broad-based
respeel ano because some Iranian lead­
ers see the need for jp'oomina: advocates
palataUe to the West.
N .. arly 20 years after fundamentalists
tOOK -56 Americans hostage inside
Teheran's U.S. Embassy and held S2 of
them for 444 days, tlle Unitcd Stiltes is
involv.:d in an intricate pas de deux with
the nation that WIUl once its hu'geit trad­
inl partner. In February, Iran received a
U.S. wrestling team for ;L pre-World
Cup meet. The Americans. who had
come in bearing their flaa:, heard joyous
huzzans from the 12,000 fans as one
waved the Iranian flag and another held
a pkture of the supreme leader. There
may be further developments. Detente,
economically a.dvantageous for both
parti.,~. is posiible because of the pres­
enc;e of Khatami, who was elected by a
land'lide in 1997.
Khatami, however. has not transc;end.
cd (, ,e hard-line infrastn.cturc. Irlln re­
m;a.i1. an exportcr of terrorism and
play'~ a role in the maintenance of
licz\·oHah in Lebanon as well as the
mUI tier of dissidents abroad. And Q;1Ch
day, at hOlne. ri&ht-wing cons,,~v.\l;ve.
hit "aCK at reform c:fforLs-p.using re­
pressive laws direeted at women or jail­
in¥ dissident clerics.
Export~ agree, however. that it will be
hard for Iran's most ri&:id theocrat.~ to
maintain its fraying, repressive stric­
tures. Sin~ the: revolution, the counlry'~
population has swelled to 72 million,
and half of the nation is under the age
of .21. They want freedom, computers,
Oprah! Moderate Islamic leaclerll s"e the
youn&, and women, as a\lies in cU"bing
fanaticiim. FlLeZeh Hash~j-brash, out-
sp;,ken, I;Utsy-is the(fi0PcV0r the talk-
b1\
II ~tfJr
show generation and- the enlighte:nctl
0\:\ Guard.
aezeh always ran ahead of me. fast.
F :m the day last wintcr when we trav­
eled to the province or Mazand,trIUl.
Her seven SLOPS incJudc:d a llporU ell"'­
piex to be: inaugurated, a muddy patch
of ground in nc:"d or br....kint!. and a
gymnaaium. Hashemi. who used the rei­
a<jvely unlhreate:nina arena of women's
athletics as the vehicle for her entry into
public life. has made the lielt! her do­
main. It is a na.tura! fit; her tomboy fem­
inism is more instinctual than theoreti­
cal. And l,er sports affiliation h"" other
a.dvantaaes. Every four yean since 1992
she has helped stage the Islamie Coun­
tries Women's Sports Games. in whieh
.2.2 countries compete. Clearly, the role
"­ ----.. .­ #'n.cWtJAr hfltr ;''I'u~rnnr;onaJ
NOTES:
Knowledge and e"posure:,
2 Muandaran. in northern Iran. is
beautiful, but car.'ricious. ,." Hashemi
Ii"i.hes. we h:ar of a mow.tonn
squall in&: amonH the purple ceowns of
the Elburz MOlJ,uains, which surround
the routes to Teheran. The l:;overnor
bends down to \Jh.ere we sit amid Per­
sian carpc\$, J' eets, and flowers to
break the newl that the roads fire im­
passable. "It i~ /fttlZah." he declares,
meaning terrible. Thrce hundred cars, he
claims, are blocked on the Firouz-Kouh,
road.
"How do you·\(now7" Faezeh asks in
the ~harl' tone \,r a woman exasperated
with the servants.
'"The police: !'adio," he says. "The DO­
li"" are sayinj; you should nor go,"
"I think ""'" should walle," Faez;eh
says, triumphantly itringinl:; to&:ether bils
of Enalish. "0" you agree to walk?"
Her vita) it:'( i. well known, even
among; the ma:;·r,u of children who .u....
round us, clar"orin& for her autograph.
Fostered by bu association ..... ith athlet.­
ics, it is pan c,f the myth that has grown
up around he-r. People say that Hashe­
mi, who is tin.ess llnd sleeps only a rew
hours Ii night t>rings a charge of eltcite­
",ent lO everYlhing. ("Faezeh equals ex­
citement," say; her mother. whose En­
l:lish rcflects a familiarity with Ameri­
can advertis;n j copy.) Yet this. volatility
has disadvantages. Hashemi wil1 stay up
until dawn working on schemes to help
the poor, has been known to arrana:e
impromptu volleyball games llt mid­
night, a.nd loves to drive alone in the
wee hours at.rou~ bacJcstreets often
I
..voided. But she misses appointments
scheduled for civilized hours and is diffi­
cult to c:onlll<n, schedule, or predict.
The &ovc:rnor learns this.
Absorbed :.,)' the siaJtt of a nine-year­
old 2irl in " red karate outfit break;n!:
boards with her hand, Faezch seems not
to hear, then turns to shoot the governor
a wichering look. The crowd chants
"Hashemi. Huhemi:' A sheep has been
~Iaughlc:red "h"r honor. She just wanti'
to get movir. g.
"Ther.. is a night lrain leavin&: from I
Sari," says Ihe governor, "which will get[
you back to: Teheran in 12. hours."
' -
AI;L
J~
Hashemi dials home on the Eriesaon..
Hl;r children want her homo IWW,
Mrs. Bal'mlUlpour. Fa.ah's cJref dIM
<f;
~r' ~ cabillf:l. leans over. She's 44, a lively bill-c
sister type who once ran a sharpshoOlen
l
~
' school for girls, and she !mows how te:
to,1 aim her appeal. "On the train, you
(l / could get more work done than in lhll
t,J:J car," she ".dvises_ "You eould go ove:
'
 ."";': ..7 -:'":':~ - _.• - - .. ..-..-. .....=..A.._~.QIIU U t u,
...,vvv

j I

yo~r lettCT$:' 1:.!.!o<~~

On the train, Hashemi sits. chador

unwrapped, craclcing pumpkin seeda be­
tween her teeth. "Ask me anything you
3 Karabaschi-who has lor.1 down slums,
added green spaces, authorized 24-hour
supermilJ"keu-by Chief Judge Ayatollah
want," she dares me. '" will answer it," YaZdi, a cleric close to the supreme

- "A,re you a rebel?"

," lUn not by nature II. conservative
person," she replie.~. "I thrive on change
and excitement. I need it. Actually, I
think J'd &et sick without it. My mother
lellder, the bauari merchant classes. and
other conser"atiws.
"The right wing." alle£.ed Huhemi in
her speech at the Interior Ministry, "i.
trying to weaken the government. 1 de­

I J
complains constantly that I'm neglect­ mand that Ayatollah Yazdi not politicize
ing my husband and children. but I've ~ the jUdiciary'" Rai.anjan; supported his
spent cno~Bh time with them." daughter's personal insurrection. servin&
At 16, Hashemi was married, by f.rcl\l' II.li ~o.bctween among the warrini par­
arrll11lloment, to NAME TK, the son or I I· ties a.~ Hashemi gavl; Interviellls and ral­
Oln_yatQ1)ah named Lahouti. She de-
scribes the union as comfortable, but
she and her husba.nd, II. psychiatrist,
don't socialize tolitether and, except (01'
7 httVlDIl t,
L.sh K..( \/6\1:

lied the: Illoderates on television.

She will not be silenced. "If they can
put KlI.rabaschi in pri.on." she tells me,
"lhey can put anyone in prison. I hope
family vacations, .eem to lell.d separate
th.. "ight wing &ets a lesson from this
Iives. This doesn't appear to bother her.
and the people's reaction."
"I don't li1:e bein¥ bound by tradi­ Despite its self-serving components,
tion. and customs:· .he: continue:s~ u e.. Faezch's pcrronnance was stunning.
peciaJly alles, 1 think arc only conven· Rowing to pressure from Khatami, Raf­
tions. For example, my family believes a 5:anjani, and Hashemi, me supreme
woman should not drive alone, but I al­ leader relei1.~ed the prisoner on April 15.
way. do. 1 never use the chauffeur my After pelting him with nower., his sup­
brothers or si~ter do. I hut., bodYi:Ual'ds. porters held aloft a IO-foot-hi,h mural
If you do what they say once, you lIIil1 or his likeness. Faezeh was given hcr
always be doin~ what they say," she in­ share or the credit. A 1m ge share.
sists, grillllin& and pitching another shell "She is the rcal gene, the real child of
to th~ floor. "My mother says, 'Paezeh RafsaT\iani," says Shahrz.a.d Esfe.rJani,
is CTllZY.- .., whose advertisini1 ageDwY de$igned the
Others w<'uld modify that descrip­ lo~o for Huhemi's Islamic pmes.
tion-slightly. "She comes like a wa"o "When "he makes up her mind, she's
on the beach," says Shahla Sherlcat, bold and courllgeous IIbout it. And I
Zarzan's editor, "and like the wave, she's thinlc she shares that wim her fathc:r:'
gone. There arc people who, by nature,
lire hyperactive and malee those around Ut she has detractors. The right-wina

them tired.. Faezeh has a remarkably

healthY personality for someone quite
sheltered-a fun and excitin¥ personll1ity.
B press despises Hashemi. "Who's that

bicyele-ritling, boot_caring SPOTts

person in blue jeans'" demanded one
She doesn't feel she owes anyone any­ paper in a caption under a Jess than
thing, and it makes her less inhibited. rlattering cartoon emphasizina Ruhe­
"One could wish sbo: were more at­ mi's moutn_
tentive:' Sherlcat continue., "that she Even nonconservatives cite her undi...
followed through. One could wish sho: ciplined ways. Hashcmi's auendance in
had a plan, a modality for change. a. parliament is the worst of all female
real organiu.tion. She should get advis­ M.P.'s. and she has dl·...wn the wrath of
ers who arc skilled ... adept. I don't feminist.~ who work uncler excruciating
think .he has real political power." constraints. "An lsJamic yuppie," snorts
Women generally-Hashemi particu­ a fo:male activist. Another elaborates:
larly-found themselves UlrgelS in the "Her "bil iLy not to pvc: attention to oth­
wave of ilnti-Khatami activity whieh eul. er people's judlPllents and do wha.t she
minated in the mayor's aTTest. Tn April. wants obviously has many positives,"
aller Hashc:mi's Zanan Cover, the Iran­ says this obler"er, "but it brings with it
illn puliament banned wornen's pictures an unreliable carelessn!'ss,"
from the covel'S or magazines and "I~'l Ha.hemi livc:s by her rules, but hers
voted to .;;&iSkUc~ s"'llregaticlJ .... is the indilTerencc: of ':1. woman whose
hospitals by sex. Of the 13 women In confidence has been nourished by
parlill.ment, .2 voted against the new reg­ wealth and her proximity to power. ~
ulations. One wa.~ Hashemi. "I ilm our train rocked through the mountain
again.t both," she said, proclaiming the pll.$ses, she spoke of :rowing up as me
revolution's future at stake. second-oldest girl in her r...mily. (Two of

II
J..

\----~~-----~-----
-

VANITY FAIR
TBU 11:32 FAX 21~ 880 8707
NOTES;
her brothers arc older, one is younger.
Her sister, Fatimeh, is an adviscer in the
foreign ministry.) Dc.pite the f.mily's
se~rity, hcr view of her nation's politi.
4
nothing Ilgain.t-maybe it leads to
c:al reality war unobstructed. Por milch
of Hashemi', childhood. R:afSllnjani was
in pri.on for subversive political activity.
Because she is strong enoua:h to bear
the risk of Il similar fate, Hashemi COIn
seem oblivious to the Iimitatiolls which
hamper other women. And her protesta­
tions of independence can sua.gest a
,elf-dramatizing dilettante, "J'm not lilee
the other member. of my family," she
tells me. "About 10 yelirs .ao, when my
dauBhter WIIS four, ! wanted to take the
ClIl' and go on It trip by myself, but my
one else to leave the house or .0
family objected. So J wltited for every.
to bed,
and I pac:ked. I packed up my dau&hter
too. I drove to where r WlIntod to go,
lIlnd when I got there. J called my family
and told them where I was and not to
dare come lifter me. And thllt wu It."
She sees no contradiction in the flict
that she remains a dutiful Js/amic dliugh­
ter, fiercely loyal to Rafsanjani, who, she
emphasiZQ, has alwa.ys refrained from
Alllcing her to asked her to modi/)' her
opinions. "My father," she says, "has
never tried to pUll me down. He hqn'l
given me verbal encouragement-praise
U not really in his vocabUlary. But he
hun't stopped me... It's not like J call
hin, evcry morning to see if he approves
of mc or not. But I dOn't need to. I
lenow what he bel ieves-we taJk politics
endlessly. Jr there's a case where we di..
auee, I will try to persuadc him. Rut in
the end ! will follow his view.. He's a
.skilled statesman, not just my father."
LAn to her own devices, the: impul­
sive Hashemi crellte.s.in a word, b\12Z, It
WIUl she who sl.Iuested thllt there was
no reason for Iranian women not to ride
bicycle•. Or run for the presidenC)'_ (The
laUer remarle made front pqes in Iran.)
But there are those who believe that she
tries, too consc:iously. to ¥rab Ilttention.
Says one young woman, "Ifshe's will­
in&: to &et C:litic:ism for supportina wom­
en riding bic:yc:les, she oughl to be will­
ing to get criticism for things which llre
much more important," Some who label
Huhemi an opportunist with a political
pme plan say lhat other. havc worked
hUder to improve the lives of women in
~. JrlUl_nd .utTered more dan~erous gov­
ernment hara..ment.
reI don't worry about bcing Iltlllckcd,"
Fa~h SIlYS as the train cuts through
smoky landscapes and little hill towns,
"If something I do isn'tcritic:izecl, then
it probably uo't making enou&h of a dif-
~'"
I'
I­
141 001
ference. Constructive criticism J have
growth IiOd <!evelopment."
he last thing J see thltt ni&hl, before
T Kttling down to sleep, is HlIShemi.
across the aisle on a top bunk. We
lire nearin. the close of a 20-hour day,
and the lisht is dim. bllt as I turn over I
sec that my .ubjce:t is studying her not&- "'<;;.;
booles.. She has the devotion of a nun i'I
and th~endUrance of an old-style Bol. ~v •
shevik but her existence appears to bc
based imme~iatc action rather than
contemplation. -'
In the mornmg, F~ch sit. cross­
legged on her bunk in her socles, still
studying her notebooks. She will not be
deterred. When the train stops. me
~abs her cbador, covers up, and waills
to join tho river of black cddying
throush the gra.y liibt of the ercaley
train's corridor.
ashemi is a conundrum for Iranian
H political anaJyJ;t Fllrideh Farhi. "The
problem," she contends. "is that
Fac:zch just doesn't know from the reali­
ty of women's lives. We have enormous
problems under Islamic law. But FOlezeh
doesn't s<:em interested. She leads this
jazzy life, the lire or lin upwardly mobile
Muslim who want. to do more, but &oes
about it rlldler c1ueless/y. Her interest is
in sports, and that doesn't let you know
about difficult livcs. She doesn't know
what it's like to be physically at risk
from mo"e relatives,
"But," Farhi adds, "I think she d~
two things that are very important.
Number one, she holdly and publicly
SpC.1lc:s her mind, and that i. something
rare here. Secondly, lilee Khatami. she
otrcrs a possibility of reeonc:iJilltion be­
tlNCen the dilTerent sectors of this divid­
ed society,"
Lllter I try to address Farhi'. points
with Huhemi as she wraps It birthday
gift for her 14-year-old daughter, Mona.
"These women," I beJ:in, "seem to want
you to be more of a bridge between the
classes on feminist issues."
"A brid~," rcpeats Hashemi, who
does nor hesitate berore announcin.,
"Let them come overl"
But before long .ho returns to the di­
alogue, somewhl&t hesitantly. "Maybe I.
have made Il mistake," sh~ bcgil}s. She
seems 10 give in to,' or at least consider,
the notiol1 that shc hu been a less than
c1Teetive eonduJt between women divid­
ed by c1us, Then, rather Quickly, she ex­
plains what is, for her, an important
complication_ "Some of these people
 TBU 11.: 32 FAX 21ll 88Q 0707
=1/
are known to bc in the opposition," she
says flatly. HI C,"\J~not be wilh th~m, be­
cal,110 it would dliftl8i. my repulalion."
I ch.ns~ th~ lIubject to Khatilmi, for
5
Huhemi came into the kitchen for food
wbom she campai~'Ded in places where
1D0lI~ of his male llllic:s feued to ven­
ture, namely the homctown of Now!.
. There were rumors that shc was at­
tadtcd there, but lIhe denies this.
A.fter Khatami's stunning victory,
most obscrver.. bclievcd hc would ap­
point alUh~mi to his Cabinet. Khlltami
nam~d Mauoumch Ebtekar as vicc
president of the environment. Faezc:h
denics that she oevcr wanted It pillce in
the Cabinet.
"I WIUI thrilled wh~n he won:' she
says, "especially by such a marj"oin-70
pcreent of th~ vote. But I never had an
idea that Khatami would givc me a job
because T eampai~ncd for him.... We
met three times soon afler the cleClioll,
and three times he started to lhanle me.
J always changed the subject. If 1 joined
hi.- Cabinct, l'd have to givc up parl of
nlY independence. And I cherish my in­
dependence."
There were lIppM'enlly olher factors
Involved. "1 dOLlblo Kllatarni would ever
have considered her for a position of
power:' says one dose observer. "They
have eomplctc/y oppo"ire personaJiti~•.
He's reflcctivc and dcep ... totally cau­
tious. And FlleZch ill fast, quick, super­
fieill1. Khauul1i ClInnot ....orlc with loose
cannon....
e.plte the charges of bc;r superficillli­
O ty, Ha.shemi re,wuly holdS nlara~bon
scsslons with the mQStuzu./fll, or disin­
h'erited. It is a mi.ion lnuch in 1l:ccplu¥
with her flither's association with the lie­
tivln branch of Islam, the: strain associ­
;Iled wittl the marlyr HOlliain. who re­
belled .,aiDst injustice. Once a month.
at a drab housc in southcrn Tehcran, the
disadvantaged present hcr with peti­
tionll.
I visited one night, arriVing aftcl' 10
P.M. She had been there since dawn.
Hundreds waited lO sec her. the women
huddled on the (loor. in one big room.
and ~he men in Ilnother. Onc of the for­
mcr had come 500 kilometers (TK
miles) to s.e Hallhemi, who distributes
infoonation, dlsPlltcnes letters of recom­
mendalion, ilnd dircou petitioners to
Illwyers. She is a Whirlwind of advice. '"
have nevcr come herc alld nOl been
hCllped," onc woman said. Another di.t­
aareed, explaiDing, "I aot one of Mrs.
Huhc:ml', letter' for my hu,band \he
Ias~ time he:: nCClcled work. But it didn't
do muc:h."
At onc A.M., not nearly finished,
and sat on the [loor. Shc looked weary,
but not ellhausled. "1 (Olel badly when J
cannot help th..m, when what they nced
is beyond my powcr," she said. And
then $he rcturned, determlncdly, to the
people.
"Look." says Shahrzad EsfaIjani,
"Faezeh's not a masician. When she ran
for parliament. every woman 1 know
vowd for her. She's opcn, she's tolerant.
She COI",c.r in here and wc're: playini Pat
Methcny lind she doesn't fall down in a
lit. She knows I'm not her type of rcli­
IPOWI Muslim. but w~ liked eaQh other
immediately. Wl!l talked a lot about bel'
run for office, she had 25 campaign of­
fices. She hardly believed she'd be elcct­
ed; now she's trying to lUOW into the
job. She is tryin, to improve hoeuelr."
portrait of Faczeh Hashemi is at least
'\""> n A part Ru.rhumon. Thc truth she revea/s
about herselr is d~pendcnlo upon tim­
inc, territory, and her audience. In a r~
"'T.t.~ ~ cent !ranit\O <!weUJilC2ifii'f:y. Burrv.yeh 0"
r I
,-\~
·l/ibhtlshz (Lady of MllY). she is fcatured
in a section whero Iranian women lire
interviewed about the laws that rul..s
them. "-m.. law;. line," shc tells the
c.a.mera. "It is the enforcem~nt of the
11LW thal hilS problems, lind lhat's be­
GUuse of the rulina culture in the society.
The judges Ue men and can't under­
~tand the worn ell'S situation." At my
screcnln¥, hoot/IIi fOllowcd Hashemi's
defcnse of the I"w.
But 011 another evening, not long af­
ter that experience, we set out in Hashe­
mi's battered bl'r&Undy Puegol on one
of the night drives that she enjoys so
much. TO.lethcr, racina: put tall
sycamorcs, we venturcd down Teheran's
winding slreets and curving alleyways
and over }u"""~th.. waterways (rom the
mountains that line each major thor­
ou&hfare. Pineapple-shaped bl,llbs muk­
in,l the hajj festi"'" lights in all colors
hung (rom b\lildin,ls in direct c:ontrast
lo the yellr-rol'nd p'cen neon which .ia:­
nalsthe omnipreSence of Islam. Speak­
inc privately, Faczeh lldmitted that there
lire plenty of thing.• wrolli with the laws
lhat ~vern lif.. in Irlln.
"There: are two kinds of Islamic:
laws," she said, her fliee nCMly invisible
in the darkness. "Basic principles in the
Koran, which says there is one 00<1. lif~
aftcr death, and '0 on. Thelle can be
c:hanged. But the soecond grou :' s e
continued as she as she executed a hair
raising turn, "arc lohose which can be
adapted to modem times.
 VANITY FAUt
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NOTES:
'.:
"For cxamplc," she WIlDt on, warm­
ing to the: sUbjc.:t, "Illko the custody law,
in which sirls CO to their (athcrs (rom
the age of seven and boys from the lise
6 for the cultural aspects o{ poets, musi­
of two. Reeelllly we had the case of a
nine-year-old eirl whose father, the cus­
todial parent, died. She Went not to her
mother but her vandfathor, who Spent
all her inheritance and sold her proper­
ty. r kept thinkioll:, Why could she not
&0 LO the: mother, who llurely would
have loved her more?" Hashel'l'li'll voice
grows more emphatic. "IsllU'l'l was not
intended (or 1,400 years ago. We believe
it is for ~JI time. and 'the laws should be
inl.erpreted according/y."
"So why don't you do something ill
parliament," I ask, rather nlli"vely.
"It i. very dimcult," she says, sighing.
"II's goin& to take a lot of strong r .. :i\<­
soningand power bllCkcd by the Ishunic
philosophers. SOOlO. of these laws have
bOC:omc a trlldition-we think they're I~
lamic but they're not; Lhey'ro outd~ted
t,...dition~."
Huhemi is eauilu-torn between
what she can say on-ellmer/l llnd what
she can say priwtely, beLween her com­
mitment to blnm and the revolution and
to her own desires, betwol!:n the realiLie8
of Iranian politics and American dol­
Jlirs, between che past And what is to
come, between the: expcclluions thlit <!t­
Lend her position liS Rlif$al\i~ni'.. dlLull:'"
ter lind the myriad or identities and pos­
sibil iti.., thl:Lt boc:kon between her
chador aod dungllrees. The flice she
sho~ to the world must be presentable
(rom many complicated angles, and sh~
must always be conscious o( those who
surround her who would prefc:r not. to
seo it a.ll. Hor aC;tiollS m~st he axq\lisito­
Jy clllibraced: sometimes ll.ll bold liS her
opposition to the mayor's arrest, other
times more SUbtle. With the complexi­
ties she must confront, no wonder she
rebels against .the schedule and the trivia
that J:overn simple lives.
Last year Hashemi rcponetlly helped
Tenowued director Abba.:; Killro.~tami ar­
ter the ~ovornment IIltcmpted to prevenL
his film Tusr~ of ChC:TI1J rron\ boin,
screcned llt Cannes. "I lN~nt to her and
told h ..r," Baid a cOI\ccrncd party. "Lhllt
1iI1n. like Ki"rostami'$ were chan&jll¥
the Wellltern mind abOUt ITlIn'1f imall:e. I
sai4 it was so important for the.e films
to be 'OCII outside Tran. She had never
even hellId of Cannes:'
Soon at'teT, the I:0vernment allowed
TA.fltl Df CherTJI to be sent \0 tile festival,
";".j" where it WOft tho P"lIne cS'Or, me m~cr
pri~e, Later it WlllI shown in thc U,S.
"I would alway, try to help lUI clancs
of people. But I have a special respect
CilUls, filmmalcer., and all kinds of
artists," Ha.shemi tells me a(teT refusing
to elahorate on til" Kiarostal11i situatioll.
WNot only aTe they a kind of interna­
tional people, but they analy~ our situz.­
tion in Iran, Illld maybe, sometimes, this
is correct."
Hashemi's favorite recent IiIm is The
SnDlv"'~fJ. the talc of a man who dresses
liS a wOlnan ro escape Iran for the U.S.
In the end, aner hc falls in love with an
actual female:, he sheds his persona,
marrie., and returns home. "It's about
finding your idenLity," sa.ys the director,
Ollvoud Mirbaqeri. "It'. (or a person
who has lost the concept of identity and
is searc:hinl for the lnJe one."
Mirbaqeri was onc ot about 200
artists and others recently hODor~d by
Hashemi in the splendid confines of the
President'S Club, a bellutiful marble,
c:handelier~it plllace built by the Shl'lh.
Men and women ate f~:I't!nj"n with
lamb, pomegranate, IUld walnuts, and
drank Parsi cola. Hashemi presented ~~I
Mohammed Bei~deh. the choreogra­
pher of a bllll.,t mildc for her Islamic
g.ames, with 11 sculpLed horse. "This be- ~
lonas Lo flw!ryone." she: told him, "So ~'"
you sho...ld put it where everyone C:lln
Sl:e ir:' Obviously, .h.. wanted the selllp­
lUre Lo send II me:isage, to inspire.
"She'$ brave," he said. "Look at the ~
ballet we did. We're not supposed to do ~
that in Iran-dance is considered un- ~
Islamic. t don't len ow how inlportant \:
artistic rrecdom is for people in the \."~
West, but for US it's our one way of \.~ '{
sp~lIkin,g the trurh." ~~
ashcnli lives in one o{ the hilly, srae:c- ~
ful neiahborhoods o( North Teheran. \:i
"The people here are apolitical," she I
tellll me apolOll:etic:aIly liS sh.. lets me ~ "
into her home. "I (eel more comfortable "~
with
" the poor, Whenever ll-nything has .... ~ ~
happened to tbrellten the revolution, it's ~
been the deprived people, Ihc relatives
or th", martyr', who've come to our aid. \"
So r feel extra badly whl!:n martyrs' rela- ~ \
lives come to me And I Cl'lnnot help." ~
She invite:s me to look around her ~
place for myself while she prepllres telL ~
Lovebirds croon in a comer, amid a ~
haphazard colleclion of Oriental and
european furniture and prin;s·.-~
her teenage daUihtcr, appeafs.((fNFOR:
MATION ABOUT SECOND CHILD
TO COME.) Sh. Is ,by and pretty, with
rDor more En,llsh at hor disposal than
her mother. Still, she muo. ll. few
.lipUpll, "J WlUlt to be a wet," .he an­
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j I

noun~. law, she's a challenger." Adds anolher

J beg bel' paardon.
HA wet," she repeats, "lIJId look aner
anin\m. J clon'[ evcr wanl to set mar­
7
editot, "If she would I:CI some serious
politiClll, diplomatic trainin~. and seri­
ous edllea.tion, she could be a VOiCcl for
rieeL- Hermodler listens indulll:ently. the future or women in Lhis country'" .r-
HAt 14," she says, "neither ella I." Faezeh Hashemi has heard all the
Yet it WlIS only two yeus later thlll commenu, all the c:Titics, all the opin­
Faezch Hashemi's wedding took place. ions. But only she can fully perceive the
By arrangement, .he mlUTi~ the son or enonnous coml'Jjcation~ of her position.
a man who had Khtm~d her father's uSometimes J think 1 want to be power­
prison cell. To Weltemers, it would ful," says Ihe woman who hlL5 so rt:tany
seem a great irony that a woman who demands to rec:ondl", so"many'publics
durin, lhe next fe.... yoau would be to avoid offending, $0 many risles. And
dlaracICrized internationally as "the
then.~he add4....somc:.thins. ralhcr Stllr­
. feminist MU$lim" wa.s dle passive partie>
tling. "(aJso w;:ant to be fre"." ­
ipant in Ii wedding ceremony that WIlS
Maybe the volatility and earel....ness
morc: a consolidation of the two fathers'
tlult Faezch HlL~hemi's observers note is
c:mer~nJl; powe.. thlln of dlO couple'•.
JUSt nerve". Or perhap. thi.s is a revolu­
Maybe tlashcml 10v;,1 her rarely men-
tionary who is hiding another ins...rrec­
otioned husb::tnd. Maybe he: is a eonce$­ tiOll, a personal one, long po"tponed but
sion to uadlrion,lilce the ehlldor. What­ building Ii/lally in the unruly current~ of
ever the truth Is, Hashemi tells me that her remarL:ilblc exeitc:menl. D
shc'lI let Mona enoose her own hus­
blUld.

he ncxt day we arc on the slopes at

T Abali, a smaIl, private slti llrea mllin­

tained by lrtUlian Niltional Oil. There:
lire mOIC dran)alic recreational venucs
just outside Iran in the E1bur;z: ~~on of
NATION TK. but Abali's course i.
comfortabl)l undemanding. WId F-Iltshe­
mi toolc up "kiing only .. fc:w years a,o.
She practice. in a trench coat, with a
sporly ski bc''lnd under her sc~rf. and fo....
bids my taking her picture.
"00 you thinle I loolc like Harold
Uoyd?" she says, just before making 1\
~ame jump over II small mogul. Her fa­
bled enc:Tgy is much in evidence.
Later on, a.s we leave, she advi~ the:

manager that thcre is no need to segre­

gale men and women Using the slopl:£.

She says this is a family plllCC.

"I'm jWlt doln&, my job," he replies.

On the road back to Teheran, I sec

that some of lhe youn&, men from the

.Iop..s h..ve been spread-eal:led over

their cars by rifle-tOtmg Ho.tbollahi. The

guards, it appe::trs,. an; confiscating

Western C.D.'•.

Next yellr, the revolution will be 20

years old, Half of IflU) i. about that age.
Faezeh Huhemi will be 36 whon the
great Rnniversary lIrTiv". As the chil­
dren of her peers grow up, the character
of thc revolution may become mol'..
open. Or more danler~usJy fanatical
and violent. There: are many variablcll.
That i. Why Hamemi divides herself
among between so mllny camps. There
are, alter tI.IJ, .0 many 'ram.
'" lPve ber credit," ...y. Farlclc:h
f'lP'hI. "Widlin Ihc eontcxt or lslarnic