Stereotypes vs. Reality: What We Are Told Growing Up and What We Don't See

This week I was shown the following images:

I don't know about you, but when I saw these pictures, they seemed like polar opposites to me. The image at the bottom appears to be a more conservative and restricted society. Do you agree? If you do, you'd be wrong. These were what came up as search results for 'Iranian women 1970' and 'Iranian women 2002'. It's amazing how the public's view of Iranian women changed in a mere 32 years. The top picture could be a search result for anything, while the bottom is clearly the stereotype some people have of Iranian women. 

If more photos like the first one were seen instead of the bottom, such harsh stereotypes depicting Iranian women most likely would not exist. The supposed fear people build up in their minds of them, if there were no images to cause it, would not exist. No one benefits from the fact that the second image is the most common. The Iranian women suffer harsh judgement and we suffer from the closed-mindedness. If we opened ourselves up, we could educate ourselves and get to know the people better, not to mention stop making ourselves appear so judgemental.

On that point, I'd like to bring up the author of a book I recently read, Marjane Satrapi, who wrote The Complete Persepolis. She was a young teenager when the veils came to be and vividly remembers it, and I feel she would want us to know that the veil doesn't define the woman. In both pictures, short skirt or long black veil, the people behind the veil are the same. They have the same wants, the same needs, the same feelings. I'm sure it doesn't make them feel good about themselves when they are seen in public and are scowled upon or glared at. I'll leave you to think about that.