When I saw the headline: ‘Iran unveils plan for women’s car’, my first and immediate vision was a nuclear powered vehicle with a curtain across the windscreen with a slit at the top. Nothing so dramatic, however.
The Iranians are apparently planning to produce a vehicle especially for women with features which will include automatic transmission, parking and navigation aids and a jack for changing tyres without getting grease on the chador.
The carmaker, Khodro, intend to offer a range of feminine colours for the new vehicle as well as a choice of interior designs.
Officially, the Iranians boast that Iranian women are the most equal in the world, although in reality the situation seems to be somewhat different as the Iranian concept of equality varies drastically from that of Western feminists.
On the roads, women are not allowed to ride motorcycles, although they are permitted to ride as pillion passengers. There are also apparently plans to introduce a sort of ‘modesty bicycle’ for women, a normal bicycle with a cover to help preserve the modesty of women as they pedal along.