Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 16
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Some 50 million square meters of black chador are smuggled into Iran annually, Soheila Jelodarzadeh, an advisor to Iran's industry minister said.
Jelodarzadeh said that half of the domestic market's need for black chador is met through importing from neighboring countries illegally, Iran's ISNA news agency reported on Feb. 16.
A chador is a full-body-length semicircle of fabric that is open down the front. This cloth is tossed over the woman's or girl's head, but then she holds it closed in the front.
Many women wear the chador for several reasons: religious piety, cultural tradition and respectability.
Small volumes of chador are imported legally, Jelodarzadeh said, adding that import duties on chador have been decreased noticeably.
Alireza Haeri, Member of the Iranian Textile Industries Union, has said that some $150 million are spent annually to import 70 million square meters of black chador.
Iran is the largest consumer of black chador in the world; the country has been importing the product for the past 50 years, he noted.
Iran used to import black chador from Switzerland, South Korea, and Japan. But now chador is imported from Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, he said.
In Nov. 2014, Iranian industry minister issued an order to boost black chador production by domestic manufacturers.
Edited by CN