Iranian authorities have started an operation called “Spider-2” to target women through the social media platform, Instagram for posting photographs of themselves not wearing headscarves, showing off their hair.
They believe that these images are “un-Islamic” and that the models are promoting an immoral culture and promiscuity. They have since taken strong action in ending these kinds of pictures from being posted.
Since the operation began, eight models have been arrested for their make-up and fashion selfies. The Tehran’s cybercrime court announced the arrests over the weekend and have claimed that they have identified a further 170 models, photographers and those involved in fashion, through the social media platform. Despite the arrests however, many Iranian Instagrammers still remain active.
One model, Elham Arab, has been charged with “promoting western promiscuity” and appeared in front of the Iran’s revolutionary court earlier this week. Later, she was forced to give a public apology for her photographs. She said in court:
“All people love beauty and fame. They would like to be seen, but it is important to know what price they will pay to be seen.”
Another model, Melika Zamani, has also been targeted. Her Instagram account, that had a whopping 360,000 followers, has now been suspended. It now looks like this:
It has been said that some of the models have since fled the country in attempt to be free of the irrational sentencing.