Iran bans women from appearing in commercials over 'indecent' ad

Iran has now banned women from appearing in advertisements over an ice cream ad that went against "public decency."

The ban came after a commercial by the domestic firm Domino showed a woman driving around in a car before taking a bite of the brand's ice cream. The ad has been considered indecent by the Iranian authorities.

Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, in its directives to the country's art and cinema schools, said that women are no longer allowed to feature in ads. It said that the ad is an "insult to women's values."

The letter said that the ban is in accordance with the rulings by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution and is based on the country's laws that forbid any "instrumental use" of women, men, and children.

However, the interpretation of "instrumental use" wholly relies on the ruling government, writes Iran Wire.

The controversy comes weeks after Iran's Guidance Ministry sued the ice cream manufacturer for its commercial that featured a woman putting on layer upon layer of clothing, each matching the flavour of the ice cream.

The authorities had called the commercial an "insult to the sublime status of women" and one that "promotes promiscuity."

Domino had courted a controversy last August as well, after a similar ad featuring a woman enjoying her ice cream in a car received objection from authorities. The company was then forced to remove the ad from Instagram. It had faced a lawsuit as well.

Cultural restrictions such as these have been a regular feature of Iranian life since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The state's morality police roam the streets and have the right to arrest women who are not wearing a hijab and detain men with unconventional hairstyles.

Drinking alcohol and having mixed parties attended by unrelated men and women is also illegal and considered a sin under Islamic law in Iran.

In recent years, women have begun to protest the strict dress code by posting images of themselves with their hair uncovered on social media with the hashtag #whitewednesdays.

The campaign sees women in Iran wearing a white piece of clothing as a symbol of protest against veil laws. However, successive governments in Iran have refused to give in and ease moral restrictions placed on men and women.