Country bans women from ads in fury over 'sexy' Magnum commercial

Yahoo News Australia and agencies
·2-min read

Iran's hardline Islamic leaders have banned women from appearing in adverts under the state's strict chastity rules.

The announcement came hot on the heels of an ad featuring an attractive woman in a loose-fitting hijab biting into a Magnum ice cream.

Iranian clerics were reportedly enraged by the commercial and urged officials to sue local ice cream manufacturer Domino.

Picture shows a woman in red clothes and scarf eating a Magnum.
The decision came after an advert of a woman eating a Magnum ice cream angered Islamic leaders. Source: Newsflash/Australscope

Officials ruled that the advert went "against public decency” and was an "insult" to "women's values".

Now Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has reportedly said in a letter to the country's art and cinema schools that, as per "hijab and chastity rules", women are no longer allowed to feature in adverts.

The ban, says the letter, conforms to rulings issued by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution.

The ban is also based on Iran's rules and regulations concerning commercial adverts, which prohibit "instrumental use" of not only women but also children and men and has long been in force.

However, how "instrumental use" is interpreted differs depending on how hardline the ruling administration is at a given time.

The ban comes amid a backdrop of Iranian women joining a social media campaign against the Islamic Republic's hijab enforcement street patrols.

Picture shows a woman in red clothes and scarf eating a Magnum.
Iranian clerics were reportedly enraged by the commercial and urged officials to sue local ice cream manufacturer Domino. Source: Newsflash/Australscope

Tourist hotspot introduces $750 fine for bikinis

Earlier this month, the mayor of the Italian town of Sorrento — one of the world’s top tourist destinations — introduced a new law banning bikinis in the street to stop what he describes as “widespread indecorous behaviour”.

Holidaymakers who walk around town in a two piece, or even bare chested, will now be handed a $750 fine.

Massimo Coppola claims exposed midriffs and torsos are upsetting locals and damaging the reputation of the picturesque town overlooking the Bay of Naples, according to The Times UK.

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