Controversial Billboards in Tehran and Citizens' 'Suggested Banners'

The 'anti-American' billboards installed in central Tehran are part of the program for the week of 'American Human Rights', which is reportedly to be held from July 6 to 12 each year in Iran at the request of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to the Rasa news agency, Youssef Tabatabai-Nejad, the representative of the Supreme Leader in Isfahan province, announced that the period from July 6 to 12 has been designated by him as 'American Human Rights Week'. In his Friday prayer sermon this week in Isfahan, Tabatabai-Nejad added that the Supreme Leader has asked officials to inform the Iranian people and the world about 'America's crimes' during this week. It seems that the municipality has also taken action to install billboards in some central areas of Tehran on this occasion. Hossein Ghazian, a sociologist residing in the U.S., told Radio Farda that the current policies of the Tehran municipality are a continuation of its previous policies, aimed at demonstrating loyalty to the Supreme Leader's directives and maintaining hardline forces. The new approach is also an effort in that direction. The Supreme Leader has recently increased attacks on the lives of people in the West, and now the Tehran municipality is trying to show that it has paid attention to these remarks. One of these billboards addresses the public with the question, 'Did you know that in America, two out of every five newborns are illegitimate?' and another billboard asks, 'Did you know that in America, a woman is beaten every nine seconds?' Following the installation of these billboards, social media users have humorously or critically responded with the hashtag 'Suggested Banners'. For example, a group of users has asked the Tehran municipality to instead allocate budget for addressing the issues of addicts, homeless people, and child laborers rather than spending on such billboards. Some of the 'suggested banners' say: 'In Iran, five out of every two bank CEOs are dismissed for illegal money receipt', 'Did you know that Hassan Nasrallah's salary slip is published in Persian?', 'Did you know that if America easily allowed Iranians to stay, no one would install these billboards anymore?' or 'Did you know that renting this billboard could solve the problems of several workers whom you have whipped?' Ghazian states that the billboards refer to the general problems of life in America. When someone's problems are to be displayed on billboards, ordinary people in Iran naturally think that their daily problems are more important. Criticism of this action by the Tehran municipality continues, while Mojtaba Shakari, the head of the Cultural Committee of the Tehran City Council, defended the municipality's action in an interview with Young Journalists Club, evaluating it as a 'positive' action. Mr. Shakari said, 'Some of the advertisements installed throughout the city are based on the Supreme Leader's emphases.' On June 27, 2015, Ayatollah Khamenei stated in a speech that 'it would be good to declare this July 7 to 12 as American Human Rights Week.' A year after this request was made by the Supreme Leader, the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary announced the publication of a book titled 'The Status of Human Rights in America in 2015'. On Sunday, July 6, Kazem Gharibabadi, the Deputy for International Affairs of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary, announced the publication of this book. Previously, the secretariat of the 'Amir Film Festival' in 2014 published a book in nine chapters aimed at examining the status of human rights in America based on Ali Khamenei's remarks. However, can all these actions bring the senior officials ruling Iran closer to the goal they desire? Some believe that a lot of money has been spent on anti-Western propaganda over the years, although it is unclear what the results of these expenses have been. Ghazian told Radio Farda that many people in Iran still idealize life in the West, and diminishing that ideal life with a few billboards in the city is not feasible. He added that criticism of other lifestyles can only be impactful when it is voiced by the people of those countries themselves.