A Tehran billboard that mis-advertised

Sometimes, the problem with regimes – you can call them governments if you like – is that they tend to take popular support for granted. This is a problem with untrammelled power, especially if it has fed on genuine popular and broad-based support over decades, as the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has. To its surprise, however, it realised this week that pushback can come from unexpected places. As a propaganda exercise – you can call it a PR exercise if you wish – the authorities had put up a giant billboard in central Tehran depicting the images of about 50 women in headscarves from various walks of public life. The point the authorities were trying to make: see, the women of Iran are behind us, despite what a ‘handful’ may make the world think about Iran and its mandatory hijab law.

Things went awry after at least three women depicted on the billboard railed against their face being used as government propaganda. Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, an award-winning actor, was one of them who not only decried the use of her image but also lambasted the regime for cracking down on Iran’s ‘freedom-loving’ women and girls. The billboard was taken down within 24 hours of these complaints coming in. The incident in not-so-free Iran shows the perils of governments in echo chambers and fed with only praise that’s high on fat, low on protein.