All of the ladies in Iranian mannequin Azadeh’s household have had nostril surgical procedures, every feeling the stress to evolve with Western magnificence requirements in a rustic where feminine our bodies are closely policed.
To Ms. Azadeh, smoothing out the bump in what Iranians would name the “Persian nose” she was born with proved a profitable funding.
Also learn: Sushruta’s description of reconstructing a nostril
Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iranian girls have been required to decorate modestly and canopy their hair, and the wonder business has turn into virtually fully centred on the face.
Having rhinoplasty — a nostril job — can make a significant distinction, Ms. Azadeh advised AFP.
“After the operation, not only have I earned myself a modelling job with better social standing but I’m also earning three times more and I’m more respected by clients,” she stated.
Ms. Azadeh, 29, requested that her surname be withheld as a result of girls fashions can face social stress in Iran.
According to the U.S.-based International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), greater than 264,000 beauty operations have been carried out in Iran in 2023, with rhinoplasty being the most typical.
A cultural development
Across Tehran and different Iranian cities, brightly colored billboards promote magnificence clinics and beauty procedures, providing guarantees of sculpted noses, flawless pores and skin and excellent tooth.
Many folks with bandaged noses can be seen on the streets, a testomony to the recognition of rhinoplasty.
“It has become more of a cultural trend,” stated rhinoplasty surgeon Hamidreza Hosnani who performs as much as 20 operations every week at his well-equipped clinic in the capital.
And that development has advanced, changing into increasingly more tied to social identification and status, particularly as extra girls have defied the strict gown code.
Such defiance turned extra marked following the mass protests sparked by the 2022 loss of life in custody of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini.
In Iran, where the minimal wage is round $100, fundamental rhinoplasty prices as much as $1,000 — considerably cheaper than in different nations, Ms. Hosnani stated.
Millions of Iranians have lengthy struggled with hovering costs and a plunging foreign money, pushed in half by years of worldwide sanctions.
“I even had to borrow the money required for the operation from my friends and family, but the money was well spent, and it was completely worth it,” Ms. Azadeh stated.
Reyhaneh Khoshhali, a 28-year-old surgical assistant, had the operation 4 years in the past, and regrets not having it sooner.
“My nose really did not look good aesthetically and I wanted to be more beautiful,” she stated.
“If I could go back, I would have had the operation earlier.”
Unauthorised clinics
For years, Iran has hosted extremely superior medical centres, even changing into a vacation spot for foreigners searching for high-quality and reasonably priced beauty surgical procedure.
However, the procedures can additionally include dangers.
The Iranian authorities have repeatedly warned in regards to the rising variety of unauthorised clinics performing beauty procedures.
In February, a dozen unlicenced practitioners have been arrested and a number of other working theatres in Tehran’s Apadana Hospital have been closed due to unauthorised beauty procedures, the well being ministry stated.
In 2023, three girls died in a single day — November 7 — throughout beauty surgical procedure in three separate incidents in Tehran, media reported on the time.
Ava Goli has but to bear her rhinoplasty operation, and stated that discovering a dependable physician concerned some analysis.
“I saw some people whose nose job did not look good… and yeah, it really made me scared at times,” the 23-year-old advised AFP.
Yet the demand for beauty surgical procedure in Iran stays excessive — and the stress to maintain up is just not restricted to girls.
Bahador Sayyadi, a 33-year-old accountant, stated he needed to borrow cash so he might have a hair transplant.
“My financial situation isn’t great, but thanks to a loan I got recently, I will be doing the procedure just in time before my wedding,” he stated.
“Men should also take care of themselves these days, just like women.”
Published – April 09, 2025 12:43 pm IST
