Iranian actress posts picture without wearing headscarf in support of protests
A well-known Iranian actress has posted a picture of herself on Instagram without a headscarf to express support for nationwide anti-government demonstrations.
Taraneh Alidoosti, best known for her role in the Oscar-winning 2016 film The Salesman, holds up a sign in the photo which reads “Woman, Life, Freedom” in Kurdish – a popular slogan in the demonstrations.
The move marks another sign that the protest movement in Iran is gaining support from all layers of society.
Nationwide demonstrations have been taking place following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in September, after being detained for alleged violations of the country’s strict dress code.
Ms Alidoosti, who is not Kurdish, wrote a poem to accompany the Instagram picture.
She wrote: “Your final absence, the migration of singing birds, is not the end of this rebellion.”
The 38-year-old pro-reform artist has posted a number of Instagram posts condemning the clerical establishment in the past.
At least five female Iranian actresses have shared pictures of themselves online without the compulsory hijab in solidarity with the women demonstrating across the country.
The city of Zahedan, located in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan on the Gulf of Oman, has seen the deadliest violence so far in the weeks of protests.
