Looking for change

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Young Iranians make up an estimated 70 per cent of their country's population. Kai Wiedenhöfer

Soon after the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iranian policy-makers decided to lower the voting age to 16. In 2007 it was raised again to 18. Kai Wiedenhöfer

Kai Wiedenhöfer

Kai Wiedenhöfer

These acting students in Tehran face strict dress code and behavioural rules. For young adults, personal behaviour in public can seem very political. Kai Wiedenhöfer

Women let their scarves slip back to show their hair. They show off their makeup, tight coats and high heels. Kai Wiedenhöfer

Kai Wiedenhöfer

Kai Wiedenhöfer

All four presidential candidates made promises to women, who make up about half the electorate. They helped bring reformist Mohammad Khatami to power in 1997 and saw him re-elected in 2001. Kai Wiedenhöfer

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Youngsters growing up in Iran

Young Iranians have been at the forefront of protests since the disputed re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009. Photographer Kai Wiedenhöfer documented the lives of Iranian teenagers and young adults during the late 1990s and early 2000s. (All pictures: Kai Wiedenhöfer)