Cairo, Egypt (CNN) — Iran has banned a film festival after an actress was shown not wearing a hijab in a promotional poster that many Muslim women did not, state news agency IRNA reported Saturday.
The 13th session of the Iranian Short Film Society festival was banned after Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance deemed the poster inappropriate, the agency said.
“The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance has issued a personal ban order after the poster of the 13th session of the Iranian Short Film Association Film Festival used an image of a woman without a veil in violation of the law,” a statement from the Ministry of Culture and Guidance, carried by IRNA news agency, said.
During mass protests across Iran last year, Iranian women burned veils and cut their hair in protest against mandatory dress codes. Protests erupted following the death of 22-year-old Mahza Amini, who died after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for not wearing the veil properly, according to government-mandated standards.
Agence France-Presse reported that the image that prompted the festival ban was a promotional poster for the 1982 film “The Death of Yastegurt,” starring Suzanne Taslemy.
A video clip circulated on pro-government channels showed a poster of a woman without a veil at a party. It is not clear when and where the ceremony took place.
“This film is about a scene.
“Coffee evangelist. Alcohol fanatic. Hardcore creator. Infuriatingly humble zombie ninja. Writer. Introvert. Music fanatic.”
