Mil Clothing Design
Over many years, Iranian women have battled to achieve more equal position in a masculinist society. Mil is a Persian name (Romanized mil) for an instrument that used in traditional sport of Iran. applying this heavy instrument gradually increase endurance and strength of athletes. The earliest records of this type of resistance device being used by wrestlers predate the 19th century, in ancient Persia, Egypt, and the rest of the Middle East. Their practice has continued to the present day, notably in the Pahlevāni and Zurkhaneh rituals in the Varzesh-e Bāstānī tradition practiced in the Zurkhaneh in Iran. The use of Mil as a symbol of resistance refers to the obstacle women face in society.
Iranian women act as heroines who take the heavy instrument of Mil on an everyday basis to achieve equality in a masculinist society. Mandatory hijab law in Iran is one of the issues that violate women’s right to decisions about their own bodies. Mil’s products, mainly shawls and scarves, used to obey this law, but the name and design of Mil’s products convey a hidden message that challenges this law; a message of resistance and women’s power.
