Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Opinion (Rageh Omaar): We are asking the wrong questions of Iran

So unusual is it for a western documentary crew to be given permission to film in Tehran for any length of time that I rang my colleagues in London to tell them we had got through the airport without trouble. The production executive, who as you'd expect was well-informed and open-minded, asked what we were going to do first. I replied that we were going straight with all our luggage and equipment to a flat not far from Ayatollah Khomeini's house in the north of the city, to interview an Iranian businesswoman. There was a moment's pause on the crackly line. "Businesswoman? You mean there are businesswomen in Iran who employ men? That's not what I imagined at all, and not what many westerners would think of when you mention Iran."

Read the rest at the New Statesman