New Delhi: In order to enforce the nation’s headscarf and chastity rules, Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has barred women from participating in advertising.
The ministry, according to Radio Free Europe, sent a letter to advertising agencies informing them that women are no longer permitted to appear in any kind of advertisements or commercials. The directive was issued soon after a divisive commercial portraying a woman in a loose headscarf biting suggestively into a Magnum ice cream incited fury and commotion among Iran’s conservative Islamic officials.
The video infuriated Iranian Islamists, who requested that Domino Ice Cream be sued, according to the Mirror. The advertisement was deemed to be “against public decency” and a “insult” to “women’s values” said authorities.
The body responsible for “enjoining right and forbidding evil” in the Islamic Republic of Iran has filed a lawsuit against the Iranian ice-cream manufacturer Domino over two controversial commercials, which it says are “against public decency” and “insult women’s values.” pic.twitter.com/Brho4SGZj3
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) July 5, 2022
The prohibition was sent to advertising firms in a letter from Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, who claimed that it was in conformity with the decrees of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution.
It is also based on a municipal statute that outlaws the “instrumental use” of anyone, including women, men, and children. Although this rule has always been in force, how it is applied varies depending on how harsh the administration is at the time.
The imposition of the hijab in public in Iran, which many women have attempted to resist, is the broader problem that provides the backdrop to the entire dispute.
Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, women in Iran have been required to wear the hijab, but recently, many of them have spoken out against the legislation and joined social media campaigns opposing hijab enforcement street patrols.
Women in Iran have recently taken a stand against enforced clothing regulations by taking off their head scarves in public, risking detention and punishment.
