This morning I went to a police affiliated office to renew my passport. I had prepared all needed materials. After a short stay I was called to the window. A young lieutenant was on charge and I presented my document in a file. Right after opening my file he said, "This can not be.”
I asked, "what about.”
He said, "We can not accept your photo, because of your beard (I have a goatee beard since six years ago and even in my present passport’s photo I have the same beard), it is considered decorative."
I replied, "I feel you are insulting me.”
By this he became a bit uncomfortable and continued, "It is not us; it is the system" (which he meant administrative automation).
Now, I was getting irritated already and told him, "I don't give a damn to the system which does not recognize my beard.”
He said, "you can make it photo shopped".
I was so angry that my hand was shaking; I noticed it when I tried to put back my eyeglasses in its case.
I shouted, "What next? How far this will go? Why do you intrude to people's very basic right to decide for their personal affairs?" While pulling my beard down I continued, "Do you think if I take this off, your interference in our privacy will end? I do not think so."
Then I collected my documents and told them, "I do not want a passport,” and left the place.
On the way to office I was thinking about what happened and if what I did was proper. I remembered the way the women staffs in that office were staring at the whole event. They were working while they were covered by veil. I imagined they were questioning my silence as male country man who during the 1979’s revolution was old enough to have a part in law making which deprived women from their many basic rights legislatively, "How about this heavy costume we have on, is it not humiliating to force people choosing their outfits?"
I passed by young drivers who were calling, "Exhibition! Exhibition!” they knew there are among people who are going to visit Tehran's 24th book fair. Millions visit the place every year. It is said to be one of the prominent book fair of the world. What a contradiction, I thought! How a nation who perpetrate such achievement can enforce these humiliating rules. Yet, it adds to more surprise to know the related authorities announced that one of the negative points of the book fair is many women did not observe the Islamic Hijab while visiting the fair. The national television also put on air an argumentative report last night, while showing women not observing Islamic outfit properly and criticized the fair’s environment.
Vagrantly I was roaming in the same route that I usually go hurriedly to have my last ride to office. I asked myself, who these people are ruling over us? Are they the upshot of a revolution’s emergency situation? What kind of law makers they are, or for whom they instruct bylaws that most of citizens are disobedient to them and their guidelines. But then, how a minority can rule forcefully over the majority? It can in fact, when a majority is not aware of being majority due to lack of communication means then, every particle of that greater part behaves as separated extreme minor elements. The monopolized mass media in the hands of ruling class which proved to be a mere minority not only compel its dogma in a great deal, also visibly and invisibly try to divide people and eradicate all roots that can unify people. Just for an instance we can now see there is no sport man, movie star, business man, artist, political figure even cleric, no one that can be an icon which people can surround him. This is not to say the present population dose not have the quality, no. I want to say the group in power, by all probable methods like technological, psychological, and even ideological teachings strive to depict being the only possible leadership option.
In the office I still had not been able to recover from the earlier shock. I spoke about it to some colleagues. Everyone had his or her own experience and commented on the issue.
One said, "To get passport for my 5 years old daughter, I was told to prepare a photo in which my daughter’s hair is covered entirely. And when I reminded them that she is only 5 years old and Islam dose not oblige women for Hijab before 9. They said this is one of their regulations.
Another woman colleague said, "So, now you know how difficult is to tolerate warnings we receive to move forth our scarves in a way that none of our hairs could be seen."
A young fellow whom I think is one of the intellectuals in our office told me that I should have told the officer, "By getting rid of my beard with photo shop, then that man is not me. And this is how a jungle like this we are living in is created."
An old employee said, "Why? Could there be any one whose beard is not decorative." He was referring to utilization of beard hypocritically in our society. After revolution not shaving beards began to be a sign of piety.
After all, I should confess this was the first time I started to think decisively of setting myself on fire. But this was not a proper thing to do. First, what my children will think of me? I always had told them to fight for life and only a coward commits suicide. Secondly, if I did so, there will be a huge propaganda that this man (me) suffered from mental disorders or was a depressed addict.
I was thinking how this started to happen and I recalled around 2-3 years after Islamic revolution when little by little the state began to ban women going to offices and shops without Hijab. That time no one cared seriously. I remembered this precious quote I received from liberty.com. And indeed it is.
"As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air - however slight - lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness."
(William O. Douglas 1898-1980).
