Taraneh Alidoosti; A Girl with a Feminist Tattoo

The controversies surrounding the first press conference of Asghar Farhadi's film in Iran continue to make headlines, even being reflected in several foreign media outlets; from Taraneh Alidoosti's feminist tattoo to Shahab Hosseini dedicating his award to Imam Mahdi. Just hours after the release of photos from the press conference of the film 'The Salesman' in Tehran, a photo of Taraneh Alidoosti showing a tattoo with a feminist symbol on her left hand was shared on social media, particularly on Telegram. Some users of this network claimed that the published photo with the tattoo was fake and photoshopped, but the existence of an image in the ILNA news agency confirmed its authenticity. Within 24 hours of the virtual disputes among opponents and supporters of Taraneh Alidoosti's tattoo image on the internet, the actress confirmed the original story by posting several tweets and providing explanations. Ms. Alidoosti wrote, 'Yes, I am a feminist,' and reposted a post she had made about 'feminism' on her Instagram page about a year ago. In the beginning of this text, she pointed out that 'to oppose the term feminism, it is better to first know its exact meaning.' In defining 'feminist,' she quoted from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's book 'We Should All Be Feminists': 'A person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.' Taraneh Alidoosti continued, 'If you have misunderstandings or fears about this word, instead of relying on the narratives of media that have long distorted our news and engineered the flow of information to us, use Google; do your own research, and if feminism were indeed the bitter, man-hating, home-wrecking sect that we have been told, then reject it.' This actress further noted that 'the fight against sexism is not only for women,' stating that 'it is a struggle against roles that society and culture impose on us instead of us choosing them ourselves; just because we are women or men.' According to this actress, 'there are labels on women and men that are not necessarily real; we do not need to reproduce this sick cycle.' The actress of 'The Salesman' explained how she and her husband fight against 'sexism': 'My husband and I are both employed, we both spend our income on our life, we both have equal roles in raising our child, and we both share parts of the house cleaning.' Ms. Alidoosti concluded her Instagram post by stating, 'For these reasons, I definitely consider myself a feminist; feminism represents unity and fairness. I am a feminist, and I wish you would be a feminist too, or become one.' Taraneh Alidoosti's tattoo, which has even been reflected in the American newspaper 'The New York Times' and the French news agency, symbolizes what is referred to as 'The woman power.' However, the side stories of the press conference of 'The Salesman' did not end with Taraneh Alidoosti and her feminist tattoo. At the end of the ceremony, Shahab Hosseini mentioned that he received his award on the 15th of Sha'ban, the birthday of the twelfth Imam of Shia Muslims, and stated that he dedicates it to 'Imam Mahdi.' This award dedication received reflections on social media and some websites, with some users reminding that Shahab Hosseini had previously dedicated his award at the Cannes Festival to 'the people of Iran.' The issue of dedicating the Cannes acting award to 'Imam Mahdi' was even reflected in the French news agency and the French newspaper 'Le Figaro.' The film 'The Salesman' has only been shown at the Cannes Festival and has not yet been screened in Iran; however, numerous controversies have arisen around it, from the issue of Qatari investment in the film, accusations of black propaganda, and criticism from some domestic factions regarding the film's success at Cannes to the controversies surrounding its actors.