Tehran’s annual design showcase is facing backlash after footage of unveiled women spread online, prompting a partial shutdown. The incident has reignited debates over dress codes and artistic freedom in Iran’s public spaces.
A cultural event in Iran dedicated to design has stirred controversy after viral videos—denounced as “vulgar”—showed women without headscarves, leading to a partial shutdown, a local media outlet reported Sunday.
Tehran Design Week, held across roughly sixty venues, promotes itself as a must-see gathering for brands, artists, and design enthusiasts.
Since Tuesday, the event had drawn large crowds at the University of Tehran—one of the country’s top institutions—where avant-garde creations were displayed in a setting filled with color and immersive lighting.
In the evenings, luminous patterns were projected onto building walls to electronic music, giving the outdoor space a festive feel.
“A video attributed to the University of Tehran’s Faculty of Fine Arts was posted on social media, featuring a song with political content,” the Fars news agency reported Sunday.
Footage from the event also showed “people without hijab,” Fars added, calling several of the circulating videos “vulgar.”
The University of Tehran announced on Sunday that it was canceling Tehran Design Week activities on its campus due to an “overwhelming influx of visitors” and concerns for “their safety.”
Other locations hosting the design week have so far continued with the event, scheduled to wrap up Monday.
Under regulations imposed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, all women in Iran must cover their hair with a hijab in public and wear loose, modest clothing.
But in major cities—especially Tehran—many women now appear openly without headscarves, wearing jeans, sneakers, and even low-cut or midriff-revealing outfits that would have been unthinkable in Iran until recently.
This trend appears to have accelerated since the end of the 12-day war with Israel in June.
Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, has ordered authorities to crack down on such violations, according to local media reports on Friday.
In recent months, officials have closed several cafés and restaurants either for failing to enforce the mandatory hijab or for serving alcohol, which is banned in Iran.
With AFP
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