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Life is better as a boy, street girls find
On Tehran's streets ruse helps avoid rape, prostitution
By ELAINE SCIOLINO WITH NAZILA FATHI
THE NEW YORK TIMES
TEHRAN, Iran -- For four years, from the age of 12, Hooman belonged to a tough gang of teenage boys who worked the streets of Tehran. They robbed passers-by, broke into cars and slept wherever they could find a bed.
Perhaps to compensate for his small frame, Hooman shaved off his hair and eyebrows, a fashion statement that sent a clear message: don't mess with me.
It was only when police arrested him recently for trying to steal a car stereo that they discovered that Hooman was not Hooman at all, but Tahereh.
The "boy" was a girl.
.........................................
Life is better as a boy, street girls find
On Tehran's streets ruse helps avoid rape, prostitution
By ELAINE SCIOLINO WITH NAZILA FATHI
THE NEW YORK TIMES
TEHRAN, Iran -- For four years, from the age of 12, Hooman belonged to a tough gang of teenage boys who worked the streets of Tehran. They robbed passers-by, broke into cars and slept wherever they could find a bed.
Perhaps to compensate for his small frame, Hooman shaved off his hair and eyebrows, a fashion statement that sent a clear message: don't mess with me.
It was only when police arrested him recently for trying to steal a car stereo that they discovered that Hooman was not Hooman at all, but Tahereh.
The "boy" was a girl.
.........................................
