The Role Of Context In The Formation Of Hejab 'Veiling' Metaphors In Hejab Billboards And Posters In Iran

Proper hejab observance has long been an important issue to political- religious conservatives in Iran who, in recent years, have relied on metaphorical language to persuade Iranian women to dress modestly in public. The present paper, based on Kovecses's (2015) account of metaphor in context, explores the role of contextual factors involved in the formation of hejab linguistic metaphors used in 56 pro-hejab billboards and posters. Data analysis indicates that the moral and social status of women are depicted as being determined by, or correlated with, their degree of veiling. On that basis, properly covered up women are shown to be the recipients of very positive metaphorical conceptualizations (as PEARLS, FLOWERS, and ANGELS), whereas immodestly dressed women are negatively pictured as being subject to sexual objectification (as UNWRAPPED EDIBLES). Moreover, the HEJAB IS A PROTECTIVE COVER is shown to be the metaphor instantiated in many of the billboards and posters. The protective function of hejab is highlighted by conceptualizing corrupt men as FLIES and DEVILS. Finally, the metaphorical patterns represent the contextual role of political and religious ideology, key cultural concepts, and show entrenched conventional conceptual metaphors and metonymies in the production of novel metaphors.