Iranian actor strips to underwear to support anti-hijab protesters
Topics: Iran, World News, Feminism
Gabriella Ferlita
Featured Image Credit: Instagram @iamelnaaz / Joao Daniel Pereira / Alamy
Topics: Iran, World News, Feminism
Protestors have made waves across Iran following the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, who was detained and killed by morality police for allegedly not properly covering up her hair in line with Islamic state laws.
And one Iranian actress has shown her support for the death of the 22-year-old woman and at least 185 others - including children - who died in the fight for female empowerment as she stripped to her underwear to support the anti-hijab movement. You can watch the forward-thinking video here:
Elnaaz Norouzi, an actress famed for Netflix’s thriller Sacred Games, took to Instagram on Monday in support of the movement with a video which stated “My body, my choice.”
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In the clip, the actress removed various articles of clothing, including a traditional black abaya (a full-length outer gown worn by some Muslim women) and hijab before revealing more modern styles from jeans and skirts to crop tops and a bra and underwear.
The last look, however, shows Norouzi removing her undergarments - leaving her completely nude - in the powerful message which ‘promotes freedom of choice’ for all women in the middle eastern country.
She wrote beneath the video: “Every Woman, anywhere in the world, regardless of where she is from, should have the right to wear whatever she desires and when or wherever she desires to wear it. No man nor any other woman has the right to judge her or ask her to dress otherwise.
“Everyone has different views and beliefs and they have to be respected. Democracy means the power to decide… Every Woman should have the power to decide over her own body!”
She carried out the token of objection in response to the violence which women have been subjected to in the country, and insisted that her actions were not a bid to ‘promote nudity’.
“I am not promoting nudity, I am promoting freedom of choice,” she confusingly concluded in the caption.
The anti-hijab protests began on 17 September at the funeral of Amini in the Kurdish town of Saqez, and have become the most challenging marches for Iran’s leaders in recent years - with many calling for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down following the unrest.
In Iran, women have been forced by law to wear a hijab in public since April 1983, despite whether they are a visitor to the country or have differing religious views.
If you want to show your solidarity for the protestors in Iran, you can sign Amnesty International’s ongoing petition which aims to address the ongoing impunity in the country and hold Iranian officials accountable.