Inside Iran

It's Friday in Iran's capital city of Tehran.  For the past thirty years, thousands of believers have gathered for weekly Friday prayers. Leaders of the Islamic revolution still speak here, holding the barrel of a gun, keeping the spirit of the revolution alive.

But as the presidential election season gets underway, there are hints of change in Iran. The chants of death to America aren't quite what they used to be, and the anti-American murals of the revolution are fading. That doesn't mean authorities aren't suspicious of visiting American reporters.

Ann Curry: Shooting a story in Iran is not at all like shooting a story in the United States. This is the number of permission slips we had to get just to shoot this story. And, sometimes you had to get permission to get permission.

Still, we have no trouble on this Friday traveling to the hills outside the city, where we find another Friday ritual: hundreds of Iran's youth, hiking, picnicking, having fun. Iranian American author Hooman Majd tells us Iran's Islamic laws prohibit some of what we're seeing here, especially unmarried couples doing things as simple as holding hands and hugging.  Even walking together could get them in trouble.

Ann Curry: They come here for release.

Hooman Majd: Total release.

Ann Curry: A release from what?

Hooman Majd: A release from social behavior laws basically that the only way they could do this in Tehran is behind closed doors.

Majd, an NBC News consultant, says it's another sign that Iran is evolving.

Ann Curry: But, why is the government allow this if it’s against the law?

Hooman Majd: Because it’s not threatening to them. The government would crack down if we’re down in the park-- Downtown Tehran. They feel like this is sort of away from the eyes of the religious.

In Iran, premarital sex is against the law. So is being gay and drinking alcohol.  Certain music, including some rap, is banned.  And there are things women cannot do in public, like sing or remove their headscarves. On a bridge overlooking a café and a waterfall, our Tehran producer and I run into a small group of young people, who ask us not to show their faces.

Ann Curry: What kind of freedom do you want?

Male teen: It's the freedom to sit here and have a beer if we want.  Hold my girlfriend's hand and not worry that the police are gonna come up and sweep us away.

These and many young people we spoke with say they like and respect Americans and want better relations with the U.S.

Ann Curry: What kind of friendship do you want with America?

Female teen: A cultural and political friendship where both sides understand each other.

At the same time, there are many conservative voices in Iran - like this family on a picnic.

Father: We have another kind freedom in Iran. We're interested in religion.

They say they're concerned about the loose behavior they see among the young people here.

Mother: These people are running a little wild out here and they shouldn't be doing this.

Ann Curry: Do you worry for the future of Iran when you see this kind of behavior?

Mother: Yes. I worry for my children. One day we're going to grow old and won't be there to look after them.  Our children will be gallivanting up here in the mountains and flirting and such. And that's not what we want.

But the strict rules in this society haven't prevented Iran from having the same kind of social problems as in the United States. Iran has a serious drug problem, for example. You can find traces of hypodermic needles on the streets. Neighboring Afghanistan is the source of vast shipments of opium and heroin into Iran.

According to the United Nations, Iran has more than 1.2 million addicts.  This woman, Bahire, tells us she is a recovering addict. Sitting with her boyfriend, she tells us it was her addicted ex-husband who led her into a life a drugs.

Bahire: My ex-husband tried to take me down a very, very bad road in life.

A road that got even bumpier. She says she hasn't seen her daughter in three years. Even though her ex-husband is the one living in a halfway house, she says, he was given full custody because the laws favor men. 

Bahire: They've given him custody, because he's a man.  And this is the way we have to live here.

Indeed, the issue of women's rights is front and center, as Iran's presidential election draws near. In Iran's universities - nearly two thirds of all students are women. And as we're about to discover on our journey, it is the women of Iran -- like this prominent filmmaker -- who may become the most important agents of change.

Tahmineh Milani: For me, future is bright.

MORE FROM INTERNATIONAL

International Section Front

Billionaire's mysterious death in Monte Carlo Former drug dealer saving kids in Congo What happened to little Madeleine? To catch a baby broker Photos: Children of Jalapa Photos: Inside the Hogar Primavera orphanage Photos: At home with the Galicias Photos: Behind the scenes in Guatemala Missing: Enma Galicia Photos: Together again International Section Front   Add International headlines to your news reader: