manteau

One month into the Islamic State reign, posters were put up saying women had to wear a manteau, a type of loose gown, in addition to their hijab.

“This is not a manteau, Khanoumi. This is a shirt.”

“Where’s your manteau?” one asked.

“I know, but this is not a manteau.”

While wearing the traditional chador, which covers women from head to toe, was the norm in the initial years after the revolution, most women are now wearing the Iranian-style manteau, a jacket worn below the knees, and a looser-fitting headscarf.