Why Iran looked so different before the 1979 revolution: Western clothes, nightlife, gender mixing

The shah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and his wife Farah Diba pose during their wedding ceremony at the Marble Palace in Teheran, on December 21, 1959. (Photo by Handout / Pars News Agency (PANA) / AFP)

• The Shah modernised Iran but suppressed political opposition
• Women's rights and education expanded under the Shah's rule
• 1979 revolution ended monarchy, establishing Islamic Republic

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For nearly four decades before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran was ruled by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whose reign reshaped the country through rapid Western-style modernisation, expanded education and sweeping social reforms.

From 1941 to 1979, the Shah pushed Iran toward secular governance and closer ties with Britain and the United States, both of which saw Tehran as a key ally in the Middle East due to its vast oil reserves and strategic location bordering the Soviet Union.

Iran’s economy grew, a business class expanded in major cities, and educational opportunities widened, including state-funded study abroad programmes.

On Saturday, the US and Israel attacked Iran and killed the Islamic Republic's second supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had been in power since 1989.

"This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country," President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Expanding rights and a changing social fabric

Women’s rights advanced significantly during this period. Women gained the right to vote in the 1960s, entered parliament, and were encouraged to pursue higher education.

The hijab was banned in public institutions, and Western-style clothing became common in urban centres. Men and women mixed more freely, and cities such as Tehran developed a cosmopolitan character.

The Shah’s “White Revolution” introduced land reforms, expanded schooling and healthcare in rural areas, and promoted industrialisation.

The royal family symbolised this modern image, hosting global dignitaries and celebrities, and promoting a vision of Iran rooted in both Western progress and ancient Persian grandeur.

In 1967, the Shah crowned himself “Shahanshah”, or King of Kings, reinforcing a nationalist identity tied to pre-Islamic empires.

Picture shot 26 October 1967 during the coronation ceremony of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (L) as Shah of Iran. At the left stands his wife princess Farah Diba. (Photo by AFP)

Authoritarian rule and growing resentment

But beneath the reforms, dissent was tightly controlled. Political opposition was suppressed, and by 1975, the Shah had abolished the multiparty system, consolidating power under the state-sanctioned Rastakhiz party.

His secret police cracked down on critics, and many Iranians resented corruption, inequality and what they saw as excessive Western influence.

Religious conservatives, left-wing activists, and students increasingly united in opposition. In 1953, the Shah briefly fled after a failed coup linked to Western efforts to unseat Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, who had sought to nationalise Iran’s oil industry. Though the Shah returned, distrust of foreign interference lingered.

The 1979 revolution and Khomeini’s return

By the late 1970s, economic strain and political repression fuelled widespread protests. Demonstrations that began in 1978 escalated into a mass movement.

The Shah fled Iran on January 16, 1979. The revolution was soon led by Ruhollah Khomeini, who returned from exile and established the Islamic Republic.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini waves to a crowd of supporters gathered at the Behechte Zahra Cemetery in Tehran during his visit on the day of his return from France after 15 years of exile, as the insurrection against the Shah's regime spreads all over the country. (Photo by GABRIEL DUVAL / AFP)

Under the new theocratic system, Iran’s political structure transformed. The office of the Supreme Leader became the highest authority, shaping domestic and foreign policy. Religious law gained primacy in public life, and many of the Shah-era reforms, particularly around dress codes and social freedoms, were reversed. The Islamic Republic has since defined Iran’s governance and identity.

A legacy that still divides

In recent years, protests, including those sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, have highlighted ongoing tensions between segments of society and the ruling establishment.

Amid the unrest, the son of Iran’s former Shah has suggested the moment may have arrived for a reconsideration of the monarchy.

Reza Pahlavi, who has lived in exile since the 1979 revolution, said many in Iran were “demanding a credible new path forward” and “have called for me to lead”.

Having often been “dismissed as politically irrelevant”, Pahlavi has “gained new prominence in recent weeks as Iranian protesters chanted his name and reposted his social media appeals”, NBC News reported. Some demonstrators were also seen flying the pre-revolutionary “Lion and Sun” imperial flag.

However, it “remains unclear” whether the 65-year-old, who left Iran with his family when the monarchy was overthrown, has the “political organising skills and enough support inside Iran – or in the White House” to bring about a return to monarchy.