| Palangan
Village, in the mountains near the Iraq border. Palangan, illustrative of
many of the country's rural settlements, has benefitted handsomely from
government support. Many villagers are employed in a nearby fish farm, or are
paid members of the Basij, whose remit includes prevention of
"westoxification", and the preservation of everything the 1979
islamic revolution and its leader the Ayatollah Khomeini stood for -
including strict rules on female clothing and male/female interaction. Amos Chapple |