Media, marketing and the film industry have a huge impact on shaping the culture, perception and attitudes towards genders, for better or worse. They help spread important information, raise awareness, provide support and influence society. But they can also be misleading and biased, by promoting gender stereotyping, disrespect and even lead to violence against women.
Iran’s protests may well be the first time in history that women have been both the spark and engine for an attempted counter-revolution. The spark was the abrupt death of Mahsa Amini, a twenty-two-year-old Kurd. After beeing sent to a reeducation center for “inappropriate attire” in Tehran, she ended at the hospital where the doctors failed to save her. She died three days after the incident, on September 16, while in a coma on a ventilator. Chants of protest over her death quickly turned into calls for the overthrow of the regime: « Death to the dictator », « Our shame is our incompetent leader », « We do not want an Islamic Republic. »