After 'Controversial' Ice Cream Commercial, Iran Bans Women From Appearing In Ads

As part of its efforts to strengthen the country's hijab and chastity laws, Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has barred women from appearing in ads.

According to Radio Free Europe, the ministry informed advertising companies in a letter that women are no longer permitted to star in any type of advertisement or commercial.

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The order to ban women in ads comes just days after a controversial commercial starring a lady in a loose headscarf biting suggestively into a Magnum ice cream sparked fury and outrage among Iran's hardline Islamic leaders.

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According to a report in the Mirror, Iranian clerics were outraged by the video and demanded that the ice cream manufacturer, Domino, be sued. Officials retaliated by declaring that the advertisement was "against public decency" and an "insult" to "women's morals."

Since the Islamic revolution of 1979, the hijab has been mandatory in Iran. Nonetheless, many women have recently joined new social media campaigns opposing hijab enforcement street patrols, raising their voices in opposition to the law.

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According to the letter addressed to advertising firms by Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the ban is per Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution rulings.

Local legislation also established prohibiting the "instrumental use" of women, men, and children.?

This law has always been, but its interpretation has changed depending on how strict the administration is at the time.

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This entire incident is being taken in the context of a more significant issue—Iran's implementation of the public hijab, which many women have tried to protest.

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In recent years, women in Iran have risked arrest and punishment by removing their headscarves in public to protest imposed clothing regulations.

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