From the universities to the bazaars to the upscale city neighborhoods to a drought-stricken village south of Tehran, signs of the losing battle for reform are ever present.

In upscale north Tehran last summer, young men and their girlfriends walked along the streets holding hands -- a display of affection that could have cost them a beating and time in jail a few years ago. A very few women dared walk the five yards from their front door to their cars without a headscarf. And while headscarves, or the more conservative head-to-toe black chador, are still required by law outside the home, increasingly women let some of their hair escape, wear colorful scarves and don short manteau coats, allowing their bare feet in dainty slippers to be seen -- often with bright nail polish.

But in the village south of the city, a few local men had just given us assurances that things were fine, when an angry woman interrupted.

"Don't talk to those men," she said. "They will only tell you lies. This place is full of drugs. Everyone is using drugs or selling them to our children. Come with me and I'll tell you what is really going on." Up a small hill, in a neat alley off the main road, she exploded with passion. "I am not afraid. You must know what this government has done to us." The Afghan refugees brought in hash and opium some years back and started selling it to children as young as 9 and 10, she said. The town police won't arrest the drug pushers. There's no work so everyone takes drugs to pass the time.

Reform-minded president Mohammad Khatami "is not given a chance to change things," she said. "Iranians are afraid to have riots against the mullahs. They are cruel and will kill anyone."

A few neighbors stopped by and listened. Sheepishly, they endorsed her complaints. "It's all true," said a young man. "Children of 12 and 10 are using opium. It's cheaper than candy, cheaper than food."

Over a bowl of cold grapes fetched from her home, the woman unraveled a story of neglect, corruption, religious power, government indifference and drug addiction. "We hate those mullahs," she said.

Politics 2000: Unflinching daily political news, analysis and commentary.