Iran bans film festival over promotional poster of actress without hijab

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian authorities have banned a film festival that put out a publicity poster featuring an actress who was not wearing a hijab headscarf, state media reports.

The ban comes after the Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA) released a poster for its upcoming Short Film Festival featuring Iranian actress Susan Taslimi in the 1982 film “The Death of Yazdguerd.”

“The culture minister has personally issued an order to ban the 13th edition of the ISFA Film Festival, after using a photo of a woman without a hijab on its poster in violation of the law,” state news agency IRNA reports.

The festival had been scheduled to be held in September.

Wearing a hijab, covering the head and the neck, has been compulsory for women in Iran since 1983, shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

However, Iranian women have increasingly flouted the strict dress code since mass protests began last September calling for an end to compulsory hijab.

The months-long protests were triggered by the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested by the morality police for allegedly breaching the strict Islamic dress code.

Earlier this month, police said patrols have been relaunched to catch the increasing number of women ignoring the law.