Just a couple of weeks into her appointment, the new Iranian vice president's decision to abandon her fashion style for the all-encompassing black chador is raising questions among women in the Islamic Republic - especially after she said President Hassan Rouhani personally asked her to wear the traditional women's garment.

Although Laaya Joneidi typically used to wear a hijab - the headscarf that is mandated by law in today's Iran - and a long coat with pants, her switch to the more conservative chador serves as a political statement in and of itself in the Islamic Republic.

And coming after Rouhani failed to nominate any women to serve as ministers in his Cabinet, some are questioning the moderate cleric's campaign promise to bring more women into the government. "Not only could Rouhani not appoint a woman minister, but also he could not appoint a vice president who does not wear the chador either and forced her to wear the chador," tweeted Hamid Mashayekhi Rad, an Islamic seminary student and activist.

The controversy began when a government website posted a photograph of Joneidi, who earned a doctorate from Harvard in comparative law and international commercial arbitration, wearing the long black chador, exposing only her face. Social media exploded with posts referring to her as a "chadori."

The controversy only grew after Joneidi, one of two female vice presidents in Rouhani's new government, gave an interview to the reformist daily newspaper Sharq.

"Mr. Rouhani, because of the protocol of the Cabinet, asked me to wear the chador," she told the newspaper. "I respected his demand."

Source: Khaleej Times