After the controversial election of June 12, 2009, a young woman in the back of a cab takes pictures of the demonstrations with her cell phone. Her bandage shows she just had nose surgery, a very popular procedure in Iran, where 274 young women and more and more boys get a nose job each day Allah makes. Tehran could even be considered the world capital of nose jobs. The aim is to get rid of humped or too large noses in exchange for turned-up or “ski jump” noses, or slim and straight ones. “Iranian women are gorgeous. Their eyes, their mouths, their complexion, everything is often beautiful. The only problem is their noses,” we were told by Dr Modarres, a rhinoplastic surgeon, who gestured as if putting up a potato right in the middle of his face. “And that’s a shame,” he went on. “If you nose is too big, no one will pay attention to your beautiful eyes. Especially in Iran, because the nose is what appears most prominently in the face if you wear a scarf or a veil.”

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Shieda, 37, goes skiing almost every weekend in the winter. The slopes are only one hour north of Teheran. She could live abroad, but prefers the Iranian life style – amongst other things – because cosmetic surgery is very affordable.

On the ski slopes of Dizin. The ski resort is situated only one hour north of Teheran.

Reyhaneh, is a graphic arts student and is taking part in the reelection campaign for president Ahmadinejad. She affirms that the situation in Iran is better than anywhere else. She has recently had a nosejob to correct a respiratory problem, and not for aesthetical reasons even if she is happy with the result “but this wasn’t the main reason…”

The theologian Samaneh Nik’s profile (see here).

Example of nosejobs : here at the Tadjrish bazaar, in the north of Teheran.

Example of nosejobs: here at the terminal for domestic flights of Teheran’s airport. This model, nicknamed ‘ski jump’, was very fashionable a couple of years ago.