{"id":1952,"date":"2021-01-18T05:13:28","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T05:13:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/codir.net\/?p=1952"},"modified":"2021-01-18T05:13:29","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T05:13:29","slug":"a-metoo-awakening-stirs-in-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/codir.net\/?p=1952","title":{"rendered":"A #MeToo Awakening Stirs in Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The #MeToo movement has hit a nerve among Iran\u2019s women. Now accusations against a politically connected celebrity artist are testing the movement in a sexually conservative society dominated by men.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Farnaz Fassihi<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct. 22, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three years into the global #MeToo movement, women who say they have been sexually assaulted are improbably going public in the Islamic Republic of Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The movement\u2019s reach inside Iran gained momentum in late August after allegations aired on Iranian social media against more than 100 men, including a giant e-commerce company\u2019s former star manager, a prominent sociology professor and the owner of a popular bookstore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the highest-profile person to face such allegations so far is a nearly 80-year-old, internationally acclaimed artist with ties to the ruling elite. Thirteen women, in interviews with The New York Times, accused the artist, Aydin Aghdashloo, of sexual misconduct over a 30-year span. Most are former students, and some are journalists who have reported on art and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The willingness by women who say they were victims to share their stories more openly is a groundbreaking shift in Iran\u2019s conservative society, where discussing sex is culturally prohibited, sex outside marriage is illegal, and the burden of proof for victims of sexual crimes is onerous. A raped woman often gets the blame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Aghdashloo declined requests for an interview but strenuously denied wrongdoing, and according to his lawyer has already taken legal action against one accuser. In a written statement provided to The Times, Mr. Aghdashloo described himself as an independent artist whose career was built on creative achievement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe allegations of sexual abuse against me are full of significant inaccuracies, mischaracterizations and fabrications,\u201d he wrote. \u201cTo be clear, I have always sought to treat people with respect and dignity and I have never abused, assaulted nor taken advantage of anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, he wrote, \u201cI am not a perfect man,\u201d and that if his behavior had offended or distressed anyone, \u201cI deeply apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the authorities treat the perpetrators and victims of sexual misconduct has become a test of the #MeToo movement\u2019s durability in Iran, a country of more than 80 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compared with the impact in the United States after the accusations against\u00a0Harvey Weinstein<\/a>, the imprisoned Hollywood mogul, the fallout in Iran is only beginning to unfold. But there are signs that the male-controlled power structure in Iran has started to respond to accusations like those made against Mr. Aghdashloo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tehran\u2019s police chief announced on Oct. 12 that the bookstore owner, Keyvan Emamverdi, had confessed to raping 300 women, after 30 took the brave step of filing legal complaints. The police said he would be charged with \u201ccorruption on earth,\u201d a capital offense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The e-commerce company Digikala opened an investigation into its former manager and apologized to female employees. Iran\u2019s sociology union expelled the accused professor and called for a zero-tolerance policy at universities. A painting by Mr. Aghdashloo was pulled from the cover of a famous literary collection, and at least three women have said they are considering legal action against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a turning point for sexual abuse, the biggest taboo for women in Iran has been sex and sexual violence and abuse,\u201d said Elnaaz Mohammadi, a 33-year-old member of Dideban Azar<\/a>, or Abuse Watch, an education and advocacy group in Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Mohammadi said she had received complaints about Mr. Aghdashloo from \u201cstudents who have left his classes distraught and crying,\u201d and that \u201call his denials have no value.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paintings by Mr. Aghdashloo, a dual citizen of Canada, have been auctioned and displayed worldwide, and France honor<\/a>ed him in 2016. Before the 1979 Islamic revolution he worked with the family of the shah to curate museums. He then moved into the circles of the revolution\u2019s ruling clerics, and he and his family have business links to the hierarchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite a few mentions in Iran\u2019s conservative media as a royalist and Western spy, Mr. Aghdashloo has generally received glowing coverage in state media, with no hint of any possible sexual abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Times found and interviewed former students of Mr. Aghdashloo\u2019s after an Iranian journalist now living in the United States, Sara Omatali,\u00a0posted on Twitter<\/a>\u00a0Aug. 22 that he had sexually assaulted her in 2006 when she visited to interview him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sara
Sara Omatali said that the artist Aydin Aghdashloo sexually assaulted her in 2006 when she interviewed him.Credit…Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She wrote that he had greeted her while naked with a robe draped on his shoulder, forced a kiss and pressed his body on hers. Her account appeared to be the catalyst for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In telephone interviews, 45 people \u2014 including former students, a longtime teaching assistant, art gallery owners, actresses, a Tehran art agent and journalists covering art and culture in Iran \u2014 all said Mr. Aghdashloo\u2019s behavior toward young female students had been known in Iran\u2019s art circles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirteen said they had been victims, including one who was 13 years old at the time. Many said they did not know each other. In each of these 13 instances, a family member, friend, or colleague recalled in separate interviews having been told about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nineteen described him as the \u201cHarvey Weinstein of Iran,\u201d elevating or destroying careers of women depending on their receptiveness to his advances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One former student said he had offered her one of his paintings \u2014 worth $100,000, the price of a small apartment in Tehran \u2014 if she slept with him. Another said he had retaliated when she refused him, telling galleries to shun her artwork. Her career faltered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAghdashloo\u2019s reputation was an open secret in the art world but nobody did anything about it,\u201d said Solmaz Azhdari, 32, who studied painting under him. She said she had witnessed him placing his hands between a young female student\u2019s legs in 2007 during a sketching class, as Ms. Azhdari stooped to retrieve a dropped pencil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Solmaz
Solmaz Azhdari studied painting with Mr. Aghdashloo.Credit…Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In telling their stories, some asked to be identified only by their first names \u2014 a reflection of the subject\u2019s sensitivity in a conservative society and their fear of Mr. Aghdashloo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n