Iranian Influence in Herat
Burqa-clad women in jeans and sneakers walk on the street of Herat, Afghanistan on Thursday, April 5, 2007. Herat, unlike any other cities in Afghanistan, has 24-hour electricity, thanks to the help from Iran, and the women enjoys relative liberty also influenced by Iran. Many Herat women dare to wear jeans and sneakers, a symbol of Westernization, and some times wear chador, an Iranian influence. However, this city used to have a hard-line governor, Ismail Khan, who banned unrelated men and women from walking together in public, and if caught, they were medically examined in the hospital.

