Their ethnicity is tied to the Medes, an Aryan people whose migration to the area from central Asia dates back to the Iron Age. The Lur, however, are considered the closest of any of the Iranian ethnic groups to the original Asian settlers. About half the Lur population are villagers and half are traveling herders. Women's role in society has turned to a more traditional one since the revolution brought the establishment of a government obedient to Islamic code. They are encouraged to wear chadors, a body covering from head to foot, and are prevented from using facilities that would bring them into contact with men.
Women face widespread discrimination in employment and other areas.
However, they retain the right to vote, established in 1963, and women make up over 50 percent of university students. The Muslim religion runs deep in Iran, and has ever since its founding by Muhammad in the seventh and eighth centuries. Ninety-eight percent of Iranians are Shi'ite. The two sects disagree over the role of the imam, or spiritual leader. Farsi, an Indo-European language, is the official language of Iran.