Serbian Official Criticised for Wearing Islamic Dress

Advocates of women's rights in Serbia said Gojkovic should not have donned the full-length abaya during her trip to Tehran on Monday, arguing that she had worn more conservative clothing than was necessary for diplomatic protocol in the Islamic republic.

"Does Maja Gojkovic understand what message is she sending when as an official representative of a secular state in which women are equal, she has chosen to wear one of the strictest versions of the hijab?" Biljana Srbljanovic, a famous Serbian playwright, wrote on her Facebook page on Monday.

"When Gojkovic chooses it by herself, that offends all those Iranian women who are fighting for their rights," she said.

Some commentators on social media also mocked what they said were Gojkovic's over-eager efforts to ingratiate herself with her Iranian government hosts.

Several of them posted digital montages suggesting what she might wear when visiting other countries, such as Egypt.

Gleda?ete u slede?oj epizodi: "MAJA U ZVANI?NOJ POSETI EGIPTU"

Posted by Boris A. Trivan on Monday, November 23, 2015

When visiting Iran, according to the Serbian foreign ministry, "the wearing of a headscarf that covers the hair is mandatory".

But the ministry des not say it is necessary to wear the robe-like abaya.

Vanja Macanovic, from the Autonomous Women's Center, told BIRN that Gojkovic's outfit could send a bad message to Iranian women, but it is hard to judge her actions from the perspective of European women.

"I agree that the message is bad, but it is hard to judge someone from our perspective of European women," Macanovic said.

The Islamic regime started demanding that Iranian women cover up in public shortly after it took power...