Taraneh Alidoosti: I Will Not Wear the Cloth That Killed My Sisters for Your Films

In response to the announced occupational bans on several actresses opposing mandatory hijab, Taraneh Alidoosti, an actress supporting the protesters, criticized the Islamic Republic officials for their 'excessive talk' and emphasized, 'I will not wear the cloth that killed my sisters for your films.' Alidoosti, who spent some time in detention last year after expressing support for the protesters and removing her hijab, wrote in an Instagram message directed at the Iranian government that 'the forced hijabs' in your films 'are still dripping with blood.' This well-known actress indicated her decision to 'turn her back on the cinema' of the Islamic Republic, stating, 'If I am no longer acting in your films, do not think for a second that you have been able to impose a ban on me.' Manijeh Hekmat, a director and producer, praised the art of the banned actresses, describing each of them as 'the art itself' and 'cinema itself,' and wrote, 'This era will also pass.' The mother of Pegah Ahangarani criticized 'third-rate actresses' who 'continuously sign contracts' and warned them that 'this mill will turn in turn if you are not hypocritical.' Recently, Iranian media published a list of twenty actresses opposing mandatory hijab who have been banned from working by the supervision office of the Islamic Republic's cinema organization. The occupational bans on these actresses have faced a wave of criticism from cinema and theater activists both inside and outside the country. The Iranian Artists' Association of Film and Theater Abroad issued a statement on Friday, November 5, protesting the artistic activity ban on these actresses and called the 'systematic gender apartheid and discrimination of the Islamic Republic' shameful. This artistic association recalled the 'significant pressures' the Islamic Republic has exerted on female actors over the decades, stating that their exclusion from cinematic activities is a long-standing issue. After Habib Ilbeigi, the deputy of supervision and evaluation of the cinema organization, announced the ban on actresses opposing mandatory hijab, Mohammad Mahdi Esmaili, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, also referred to mandatory hijab as law and stated, 'It is not possible to work for those who do not implement the law.' The website 'Cinema Daily,' an online cinema and television media outlet, announced the names of the banned actresses as 'Baran Kosari, Vishka Asayesh, Taraneh Alidoosti, Katayoun Riahi, Panteha Bahram, Hengameh Qaziani, Pegah Ahangarani, Maryam Boobani, Golab Adineh, Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, Shaghayegh Dehghan, and Afsaneh Bayegan.'