I meet Nasrin at a birthday party. The women are sitting comfortably in the large living room chatting cheerfully over tea and fruit, while the men have retired to the small living room and are talking about business and politics.
A cousin of the hostess has brought Nasrin to the party. Nasrin is around forty years old. She looks very attractive with her tasteful make-up and elegant clothes. But she also seems a bit reserved. It takes a while for her cousin to push her:
- "Come on, please bring your things so we can have a look at them."
It takes a few more requests from the side of the hostess, until Nasrin finally brings in two huge plastic bags from the hall.
The girls are immediately very interested. Then Nasrin opens one of the bags and brings out a couple of beautiful headscarves, which she spreads out on the floor in front of the women.
One of the young girls grabs one of the scarves and skillfully drapes it around her head. But her mother looks stern.
- "No, Shirin, you already have three drawers full of headscarves. You don't need any more scarves!"
The daughter looks back disappointed.

Meanwhile the cousin explains the situation to me.
Nasrin sells clothes. She takes the bus to Istanbul twice a month where she looks for suitable goods. It takes the bus about two days to get from Tehran to Istanbul. Then she comes back to Tehran and tries to sell the clothes here.

In no time, the living room has turned into a fashion boutique. The adjoining bedroom serves as a changing room. Turkish clothing is extremely popular in Iran and Nasrin seems to have a flair for fashion. She has a wide range of clothes in her two bags from underwear to headscarves, shirts, trousers and even elegant evening dresses.
The women have a lot of fun. They try the dresses on, the living room resembles a buzzy fashion show. Even the daring evening dress with a leg cut up to the thigh and a wide neckline is being tried on. The men are safely staying in their own living room, discussing and laughing. We don't have to hide.

Later on we fold the clothes away so we can bring in the dinner. We set up a buffet on the dining table, then the men come out of their living room. They fill their plates, get something to drink and disappear again into their own room. Anyway, we are far too many people to be able to eat all together in one room.
After dinner, we women clear the food away. Together we wash the dishes while having a lively conversation. The birthday cake comes in the form of "Shaun the sheep". Over tea and cake I get in touch with Nasrin. She tells me her story.

- "I grew up in Rasht, in northern Iran. My family comes from Rasht. I also got married there. But the man was not a good person. In the end, I was happy when he divorced me. He went away and left the two children with me.
It was not easy for a woman. Where should I get the money for myself and the children from? And then there was this boy from the neighborhood, my younger son's best friend. His parents died in a car accident. The boy lived with his grandfather, but the old man couldn't take care properly of the boy. So, the boy was with us most of the time. What should I do? He was a child like my own two boys.
But it was difficult in Rasht. Finally, I decided to come to Tehran with the kids. I also took the boy from the neighborhood with me. He had no one else. We all live in a single room in the east of the city. It is not easy. The room is very small. I sleep during the day when the boys are not at home. I earn some money by selling the clothes. Nevertheless, some days are quite bad.
But it's worth it. Everything! The boys now study at Tehran university. I want them to learn something and have a future. My greatest wish is that they become good men."
Then her eyes start to glow. She calls her cousin over.
- "Please show us the film of the wedding."
Nasrin herself doesn't have a cell phone, but her cousin has one. Immediately all the women gather around us and we start watching a film of an Iranian wedding on the small screen. We see a lot of beautifully dressed women dancing in a large hall and having a lot of fun.
- "This is the wedding of my eldest son. He graduated last year. Now he is working as a civil engineer for hydro power plants for the government. He got married last summer and moved to Tabriz. " While saying this she seems so happy.
- "The worst is over. The other two boys will soon graduate as well and they have good grades. I hope so much, that they too will find a good job."

At the end of the evening, Nasrin has sold a good half of her clothes. I too bought some things for me and the children.
Nasrin's cousin leads the till. As she explains very openly, Nasrin is far too little business-minded and would not take enough for the clothes. That is why she is responsible for the cash register. The cousin has a small booklet where she writes down everything and in the end, she hands over the money to Nasrin. As the cousin tells me later on, she studied accounting and is working as an accountant for an architect.
When we say goodbye late in the evening and the men have come out of their room again, the hostess hands over a pile of tupperwares to Nasrin with the leftovers from the party.
- "Take this with you for your sons. It is far too much to eat for us."