Criminal Charges Filed Against Baran Kowsari and Rakhshan Bani-Etemad for Violating Mandatory Hijab

Following the appearance of renowned Iranian filmmaker Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and famous actress Baran Kowsari without mandatory hijab at a film critique session, the Tehran Prosecutor's Office has filed criminal charges against them. Images published on social media on Tuesday, September 6, showed Baran Kowsari and Rakhshan Bani-Etemad without the mandatory hijab at the critique session for the film 'Someone Always Gets Lost,' featuring Kowsari. The Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, announced on Wednesday, September 7, that 'following the hijab violation by a female director and a cinema actress in a public place, the Tehran prosecutor has filed charges against them.' Mizan did not name the two filmmakers but noted that 'this female director and her daughter' attended the film critique session without adhering to the mandatory hijab. Baran Kowsari is the daughter of Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and Jahangir Kowsari, a cinema producer and former television presenter, and is among the Iranian actresses who have appeared in public without the mandatory hijab following the nationwide protests of 2022. Jahangir Kowsari previously reported that his daughter is not only banned from appearing on screen and in posters but also prohibited from leaving the country. Bani-Etemad also protested against the violence of the Islamic Republic's security forces against protesters by sharing a video of herself appearing without the mandatory hijab during the nationwide protests in Iran. In the context of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests in 2022 and afterward, several of the most famous actresses in Iranian cinema not only supported the protesters but also published images of themselves without the mandatory hijab or appeared in public with optional attire. The judiciary and security institutions have taken action against them over the past two years, and legal cases have been opened against several of them. Some have also been sentenced to penalties in court. In one of the latest cases, a lawyer for Afsaneh Bayegan, a well-known cinema and television actress, reported on August 15 this year that she had been sentenced in court to a fine and an 18-month ban on any activity in cyberspace and a prohibition on leaving the country. The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance under President Ebrahim Raisi has also barred several of these actresses from working since last year, stating that they are not allowed to participate in films and series due to their failure to comply with the mandatory hijab. The severe governmental crackdown and the risk of protests becoming 'underground' are increasingly evident.