Filmmakers In Iran Start Shooting Without Hijab After Protests
Unconfirmed reports about Iranian filmmakers shooting movies and TV series with actresses without hijab have led to controversy in the country.
Unconfirmed reports about Iranian filmmakers shooting movies and TV series with actresses without hijab have led to controversy in the country.
The story was first reported by movie director Vahid Vakilifar and Mohammad Reza Shafiei, a producer linked to the Islamic Republic’s inner circles, who criticized the filmmakers, saying that “the enemy's hybrid warfare” has clouded their understanding and judgement of the current developments.
According to these reports, filmmakers are shooting the same scenes both with hijab and without, leaving the impression that they think the Islamic Republic’s mandatory dress code may be relaxed in future.
Later on, people on social media said that not only the movies are being filmed both with and without hijab, some series for home streaming services are also being shot both ways.
An official with the Islamic Republic’s Cinema Organization, a body that works under the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, denied the reports on November 23, and threatened if the news is true, the production of the films will be stopped at any stage. Bahman Habashi warned of “irreparable consequences for the creators.” He also called on investors, producers and directors to be careful about the consequences of any violation of the country's official laws on their reputation, credit and capital.
It is not yet clear who are the filmmakers who are purportedly making such movies or how they are funded or whether the movies are being produced for screening inside the country.
Kianoush Ayari’s movie "Couch," in which the actresses do not have headscarves, but instead wear wigs, is still banned, or another movie “The Killer and the Savage” by Hamid Nematollah, in which the main character is a woman with a shaved head has not given permission for screening.
Although producing movies or shows in two version seems costly and arduous, there are some very famous examples for it, such as The Message, a 1976 epic flick by Syrian-American Moustapha Akkad that chronicles the life of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Having consulted with Islamic clerics in a thorough attempt to be respectful towards Islam, Akkad simultaneously filmed two versions of the drama - one with an international cast in English and one an Arabic version with an Arab cast.
However, there are some people on social media who believe these rumors were created by regime insiders to justify the crackdown on filmmakers. This may be true because there are a few government-backed companies which want to control all film and TV series production and distribution. They have an interest in banning films or arresting independent filmmakers.
In recent weeks, a large number of actresses and female filmmakers as well as sports celebrities have posted photos of themselves without the Islamic Republic’s mandatory hijab as a show of solidarity with antigovernment protests, ignited by the death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini in custody of the country’s hijab – or the so-called morality – police.
Such acts of defiance by actresses have become extremely troubling for the Islamic Republic’s state broadcaster that has to remove them from TV series and movies they had appeared in or stop airing the shows altogether.
The regime has also arrested several of the celebrities who have unveiled in public and has threatened many with bans on their works and leaving the country. However, such measures seem futile as the list of people who are getting banned are increasing day by day. Even if the production of movies with a veiled and unveiled cast is only a rumor, it shows that many people are imagining the country’s cinematic landscape free of the Islamic Republic.
In his Friday prayers sermons, Mowlavi Abdolhamid, officially known as Mowlavi Shaikh Abdolhamdid Esmailzehi, said whenever people were willing to go to the polls and vote for the reformist camp, they disappointed them with their inaction.
“The time was wasted, and we have lost the opportunity for reforms," said the religious leader of Iran's largely Sunni Baluch population living in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
"The reformists did not manage to do anything, and the biggest complaint directed at them is why they did not enact any reforms,” he said. Indirectly referring to the Supreme Leader and possibly the Revolutionary Guards and hardliners, Abdolhamid said that if reformists were stopped from pursuing reforms, “why didn't they say who stopped them? Why did they remain silent? Those who came in the name of reformism and did not do anything should have had the courage to say who didn't allow them," he said.
Emphasizing that reformists have lost their chance, he said that “If reforms had been carried out in the Islamic Republic, today the people would not be suffering from miseries, and they would not be shouting for freedom and justice during their protests.”
Mowlavi Abdolhamid, who had previously supported Reformist President Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005) and moderate conservative Hassan Rouhani (2013-2021), encouraged Iran's Sunni population to support ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi in the 2021 presidential election. Later he complained that Raisi failed to fulfil his promises to the Sunni community while millions had voted for him. Following the killing of more than 100 Sunnis in Zahedan during recent protests by security forces, some criticized Abdolhamid for having supported Raisi.
At the start of the reform movement in 1997, Abdolhamid played a key part as a charismatic leader who rallied the Sunnis behind Khatami. The history of the Islamic Republic reveals that any candidate who had Abdolhamid's support won the election in Sistan and Baluchistan and Kordestan provinces.
Abdolhamid's popularity is largely because of his willingness to challenge the absolute authority of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Earlier in November, the outspoken Sunni Imam said women, ethnic and religious groups, and minorities have faced discrimination after the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. He was also brave enough to blame Khamenei for the attack on protesters in his hometown, Zahedan.
He made the remarks on the backdrop of reports from recent meetings between senior officials and a number of reformist figures. Sources in Tehran say Iran's ruling hardliners are beseeching once popular reformists they purged from power to help save the regime and end the uprising. However, the reformists have been side-lined during the current wave of the protests – ignited by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, as neither the government nor the protesters consider them a serious political alternative.
During his Friday prayers sermons, Mowlavi Abdolhamid also criticized the crackdown on the Kurdish majority cities in western Iran, praising them as one of the best ethnic groups who protected the borders like the people of Sistan and Baluchestan.
Since last week, the Islamic Republic has intensified its repression of Kurdish-majority cities and towns following reports that parts of some small towns have fallen into the people’s hands. The majority of Iran's 10 million Kurds live in the western parts of the country.
"Now that the people of Kordestan are complaining about their problems and protesting, they should not be shot at, and they should not be treated with violence," he said.
He added that if he were an official, he would listen to the peoples’ demands, noting, "It is a matter of concern that many of our officials were not ready to listen to the critics. These problems were created by those who did not allow criticism."
Taking issue with spending Iran’s money in other regional countries, the cleric said, "This country does not belong to officials and rulers. It belongs to all of us and we all want this country to be prosperous. Its wealth should be spent here instead of somewhere else."
He also called on the authorities not to give "severe sentences" to protesters and urged the release of the political prisoners, referring to death sentences issued for at least 10 people.
Expressing concern about reports of torture and sexual harassment of prisoners, Abdolhamid cautioned, "There are some reports of mistreatment of prisoners, especially female prisoners, that are difficult for me to say... Torture is against the constitution and is not allowed in any religion."
“Do pro-government media aim to reassure the public with such coordinated news dissemination?” a commentary in Jomhouri Eslami (Islamic Republic) daily asked Thursday.
“If so, they are badly mistaken,” the commentary said arguing that the current minimum living conditions fails to meet the standards of living before the current administration took power.
Amid protests that have engulfed the country in the past two months, the state and pro-Raisi media including the state broadcaster (IRIB) are constantly claiming that the government has succeeded in bypassing US sanctions, is selling more oil, has improved the economy, has better relations with neighboring countries, and is making greater scientific and military strides.
“The discrepancy between the real situation with what government officials say is totally tangible … Quasi-state media’s disregard of this fact can cause social breakdown,” the commentary said.
The paper went on to demand answers for a host of questions pertaining to such achievements including claims about a drop in the inflation rate and success in thwarting the effects of US sanctions through membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) which Raisi has repeatedly called one of his government’s achievements.
“What’s the reason for the hike in the price of staples and other essential commodities given that pro-government newspapers constantly run headlines about inflation dropping?” the article asked.
Jomhouri Eslami is one of the oldest newspapers in the Islamic Republic and like the ultra-hardliner Kayhan daily receives funding from the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office.
However, unlike the firebrand editor of Kayhan, Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor of Jomhouri Eslami, Masih Mohajeri, has maintained a degree of political independence over the years and often criticizes hardliners. In May, he called on Raisi to resign for failing to deliver on promises of improving the lives of Iranians.
The list of Raisi’s unfulfilled campaign promises seems quite long. He pledged to build one million affordable housing units for sale during each year of his term in office, bring down inflation, provide fast internet and unrestricted social media, and mend relations with neighboring countries including old-time rival Saudi Arabia.
Raisi blames foreign powers and “enemies” for thwarting his plans, but this does not seem to convince anyone apart from his allies.
“Thank you for delivering on your promises of bridling the inflation and strengthening the national currency! Never mind the promises of [affordable] housing …,” the former governor of the Central Bank of Iran and election rival Abdolnaser Hemmati told Raisi in a tweet Tuesday.
As evidence of Raisi’s failure, Hemmati said point-to-point inflation has risen from 34.7 percent in the beginning of the Iranian calendar year [March 21] to 48.1 percent, the rial has dropped in value against the dollar from 262,000 rials to the dollar to 354,000 and printing money has increased by 3.2 percent only from September 23 to October 22.
Even many conservatives admit that the Raisi government is just inept and cannot organize any project, but few can say that continuing US sanctions on Iran is the main reason for so much economic failures. That would mean criticizing the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who is responsible for all major foreign policy decisions.