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Iran’s nude actress Golshifteh Farahani sparks anger, banned from country

Joseph Mayton | 19 January 2012 | Comments (22)

Farahani posted a nude photo on Facebook.

CAIRO: An Iranian actress who posted nude photos of herself on Facebook has been attacked by the Iranian government, calling her “anti-Islam” and demanding that she be put to death for “blasphemy.”

Golshifteh Farahani came to stardom at the age of 14 when she appeared in the film Pearl Tree, but jumped to international fame in 2008 when she starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie Body of Lies.

Her dabbling in women’s issues began when she appeared in France’s Madame Le Figaro and protested against the ultra-conservative nature of her home country, which she said in the interview, was “restricting the ability for Iran’s film industry to push forward.”

This month, however, she again sparked controversy by posting the same image of her bare chest on her personal Facebook page.

“I think it is disgusting and she should be put to jail or worse for this crazy idea. Women here are treated with utmost respect,” said an Iranian government official in Cairo, the birthplace of the nude photo revolutionary in the region.

Aliaa Mahdy, an Egyptian blogger, posed completely nude and posted the image on her personal blog in November, sparking the ire of both conservatives and liberals alike. Mahdy said she posted the image in order to push women’s issues forward and to show that her body was not owned by anyone but herself.

Back in Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency said “publishing of photographs of the deplorable Golshifteh Farahani on the Internet shows the ugly face of cinemas behind the scenes.”

But women in Iran are not as disturbed by the image and told Bikyamasr.com that the idea that a woman can demand her rights through “the shock of nudity” is not new to the world.

“We have long had nudity in our history, and this concept and act of protest by Farahani is the next evolution in the battle for women to become equal and have full rights in the country,” said one professor, Nadia, who said speaking on the topic could make her face disciplinary action.

“It is really easy to condemn and call her ridiculous, but the reality is men are all logging on to see her naked body, just like they did in Egypt. At least now we can talk about women’s issues in this country and push empowerment forward,” the professor told Bikyamasr.com via telephone.

In Egypt, upon hearing of Farahani’s actions, activist Manal said that “if she is going to be banned from Iran, maybe more women should follow her lead and take off their clothes. At least this way we can leave our countries and live in peace.”

ShortURL: http://goo.gl/NyZLg

Tags: featured, Golshifteh Farahani, Nude Photo, Nude Photo Revolutionary, Nudity

Section: Editor's choice, Iran, Latest News, Women

Hang Tuah

Your definition of respect and our definition of respect differ. Westerners in general always think they are superior from all aspects including culturally. Having been staying in America for years, I disagree with your definition of respect to women. I have seen women being made as symbols of sex and being commercialized. That is not acceptable in Muslim countries. We won’t condemn you for not agreeing with us, but please respect what we believe in. Go and ask any modern muslim women such as in Iran or in my own country Malaysia. I would certainly assure you that they do not stand behind Golshifteh in their view. And by the way, I have seen many ignorant comments about women in Iran, they are very educated. It’s the same thing in Malaysia where the number of women who go to university is more than men. So, just respect each other and get to know each other.
Alfred Thein

Also hova.. Islam is so powerful that one girl threatens it? The religion of peace my ass.
Rob – UK

She is her own person. Respect for that.
Cccliano

She is a bad angle..I am sorry for her mid…
Gbehnam Bb

Don’t juge too quickly!
loreta

golshiteh is a hero .

Arbabkaveh

um… what kinda hero is this???

shablon

There is not a man in the world who has not seen woman’s body in some form or another, from time immemorial artists have depicted it in sculpture and in paint and the most amazingly beautiful Queen Nefertiti remains most beautiful and does not show anything besides her immaculate facial features
Roc

hovxshatrah and Pari well said.

As far as Sean, SMISAC, Asdads, and shiva are concerned, I sure hope that you don’t run around calling yourselves Muslims because hypocrites are the lowliest of creatures. Microbes like you have no place in an honorable Middle Eastern society, and will never be accepted by the good common people. Enjoy being hidden on the internet like the cowardly losers that you are.

Alfred Thein

Hey Roc, why don’t you post your information so that people can see your bigotry in real life. Ill post mine, because I have nothing to hide.

Hypocrites are the lowliest creatures? What does that make you, a hypocrite who is unaware of his own hypocrisy for he has been made infallible by the cultural/societal/religious terms of his society? Your kind, the unthinking traditionalists, the fundamentalist, the conservative are all the same rotten branches from the same rotten tree of tyranny. You can try to put a veneer on your bigotry using benign terms like honorable society and “the good of the common people” where as in the harsh reality of logic, you are exposed for what you truly are. Terrified little cockroaches afraid of their own shadows, hating to live thus living to rob joy and choice from all those unfortunate enough to encounter you.

hovaxshatrah

There is a big war between Islam and Satan.this girl is a soldier for satan.

Georgvs Rex

Excellent! If the uninspiring autocratic Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the face of Islam, and this intelligent, articulate and attractive young woman Golshifteh Farahani is the face of Satan, it’s no wonder we see so many reports of Muslims rejecting Islam. Go for it Satan!Do any of you fundamentalists ever laugh or think outside the square? Have a look at yourselves. This same newspaper also reports the Ayatollahs banning Barbie dolls. No doubt because they’ve proved enormously popular in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranian government heirachy, by making diabolical threats against this brave young lady, have given more sympathy to her cause than if they had simply ignored her.Be ever vigilent, fundamentalists: thanks to your attention-giving rants, be ready for more and more Muslimas to use this form of protest. A form of protest you have no control over. But that’s probably what makes you angry, isn’t it. Losing control over women? Hmmmm?

shiva

she can decide about that’s life..she broke the fossil mind
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Pari

She is considered a total failure in the middle eastern tradition. No woman of dignity and honor would show off her body parts for the fun of it. Human beings in general and women in particular are supposed to be treated with full respect. She is simply another poor victim of corrupt western modernism which commercializes everything. Including women!!

Asdads

You are disgusting. A woman who simple doesn’t give a sh*t what an asshole like you might think about her. She stood up for freedom of speech and free expression, and you hate her for that. You don’t respect women, you respect women who behave like slaves.
Anonymous

You are entitled to your opinion, but have no right to impose that on the others. Speaking personally, I find that hiding women’s bodies is just another obsession with guess what, women’s bodies.
Sean

That’s right! Nothing says “full respect” like having your brothers and fathers make all your decisions, travel everywhere with you, make your testimony only worth half a man’s and to be dressed up like a garbage bag ninja all day. Remember, the best muslimas don’t leave the house!

love Iran

It’s very easy to
repeat what you hear in your media without having any knowledge about what you
say. According to the law of Iran men and women have different rights but
this does not mean that they are not equal. The most modern books about the
relation of men and women accept that men and women are different so they have
different needs. I don’t know from whom you have heard an Iranian girl should
travel with a company. I tell you that inside and outside Iran, Iranian girls and women alone have proved
to be the best students of the best universities of the world. And as I know
the responsibility the fathers and the husbands have economically and from any
other dimension is much more than what you can ever imagine. After leaving Iran I understood many things I heard from foreign
medias about my country was wrong. I’m counting the days to come back to my
country and I will come back after I finished studying. Golshifteh Farahani is
not the Symbol of Iranian women. Because they are mostly very educated and of
course healthy! Just a sick mind can select getting nude as a way for protest.