Instagram headscarf protest by actress against Iran’s rulers

An Iranian actress has posted an image of herself on Instagram without a headscarf to signal solidarity with anti-government demonstrations after the death of a young woman in police custody.

Taraneh Alidoosti — best known for her role in the 2016 Oscar-winning film The Salesman — held a sign in Kurdish reading “Woman, Life, Freedom”, a slogan of the protesters who have campaigned against Islamic dress codes and authoritarian rule in the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death in September.

Amini, 22, was arrested by morality police in Tehran for allegedly failing to cover her hair, and died three days later. The authorities say she suffered from a pre-existing condition but her family claim she was beaten to death.

Alidoosti, 38, one of Iran’s most successful actresses, posted her picture on Instagram, where she has more than eight million followers. She has previously vowed to remain inside Iran at any price and has paused her career to support the families of those killed in the security forces’ clampdown on demonstrators.

Her statement comes after several prominent Iranians at home and abroad expressed resistance to clerical rule in Iran. Water polo players, an ice skater and a beach footballer were among others staging what appeared to be calculated acts of defiance this week.

In one video that circulated early yesterday, the men’s national water polo team were seen resolutely refusing to join in the Iranian national anthem before a match at the Asian championships in Thailand.

Previously, a video of a beach football match taking place in the UAE had also gone viral. The final of the Emirates Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup, against Brazil, was settled with a winning goal from Iran’s Saeed Piramoon. As he celebrated Piramoon stopped and theatrically pretended to cut his hair. Women who began the latest round of protests in Iran by protesting against rules enforcing hijab have filmed themselves cutting their hair in public.

On the team’s return to Tehran, officials stopped them talking to journalists. “People who have not followed professional and sports ethics will be dealt with according to the regulations,” the Iranian Football Federation said in a statement.

“As per regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Olympic code of ethics and the rules of Fifa, political behaviour must be avoided in sports fields.”

A woman ice skater, Niloufar Mardani, was seen competing in a skating marathon in Turkey without a headscarf. As happened last month when Elnaz Rekabi, a sports climber, was filmed taking part in a tournament without hijab, Mardani was later filmed apologising and saying the loss of the headscarf had been “accidental”.

Iran has been engulfed in protests since September 16, when Amini’s death was made public. More than 200 people have died in clashes between demonstrators and a variety of regime security forces.

One opposition group, the Iranian Reform Front, called yesterday for a referendum on the future of the clerical regime. The Reform Front represents the reformist wing of the regime, which has been gradually excluded from power by hardliners in recent years. Its call for change within the establishment has been outflanked by more radical calls for its overthrow both by exile groups and protesters.