The struggle for female equality and choice in the Middle East seems to be going strong. Last week, the Iranian government decreed that Iranian-born actress Golshifteh Farahani is not to return home. American audiences may recognize Farahani as “Aisha” from the 2008 Ridley Scott film Body of Lies, opposite big names such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Russel Crowe. The role made her the first Iranian actress to score a starring role in a major Hollywood production. Farahani is no stranger to stardom at home; she has been a beloved actress in Iran since the age of six.
Yet a single career decision has rendered her unwelcome in her home country—Farahani recently posed sans top in a black-and-white short from Jean-Baptist Mondino entitled Corps et Âmes. Adding insult to cultural injury, according to The Huffington Post she also appeared nude in Madame Le Figaro, a French magazine.
Farahani was slandered shortly after in an article from the Iranian Young Journalist’s Club, which accused her of overstepping her boundaries, even in the midst of the “little morality” maintained in Western culture.
Even those who stand in support of her have suggested that she may have inadvertently interrupted the peaceful uprising against female oppression in Iran by acting in a rash and lewd manner. Farahani herself has stated she is “heartbroken” at the mistrust and mistreatment by officials in her country.
While I can understand that a certain cultural line or two was crossed, Farahani’s actions certainly did not deserve this level of punishment. Female empowerment has never been a top priority in Iran, and it would appear that in light of Farahani’s fiasco and other recent events, it is the entire umbrella of female sexuality that the government finds threatening. In the last few weeks alone, Iran has also resumed its venerable crusade against Barbies™. The dolls were initially banned for being culturally offensive in their portrayal of women.
I can agree here that Barbie™ founder Ruth Handler’s dolls are less-than-realistic miniatures of women. Bastardized science experiments have even proven that, were Barbie a real person, she would topple over from disproportionate top-heaviness.
But it isn’t simply Barbie’s impossible figure that outrages the Iranian government and shop owners. Their rage results from her fashion choices and the different professions her many outfits encourage as options for young women. Alternatives to the popular Mattel™ creation, called Sara and Dara™ dolls, have been manufactured by Iranian toymakers to restore young interest in traditional Islamic customs and gender roles, but have reportedly boasted less-than-competitive sales next to the American blonde bombshell in the hot pink cardboard and plastic wrapping. Iran has not been the only country to ban Barbie™—after declaring the dolls a “threat to Islam,” Saudi Arabia did away with them as well.
As easily as Barbie’s clothes offend, Farahani’s lack thereof, no matter how tastefully showcased, seems to sour a bit in Iran. The message on female sexuality that such prudishness sends around the world is certainly not one that advocates equality. Reverence for one’s own culture is important— but it should not mean the abridgment of personal choice or the suppression of female expression and sexuality.
