Taraneh Alidoosti, known for her role in the 2016 Oscar-winning film The Salesman, holds a sign in the photo that reads “Woman, Life, Freedom” in Kurdish – a popular slogan at the protests. The move marks another sign that the protest movement in Iran is gaining support from all sections of society. Protests have been taking place across the country since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in September after she was detained for alleged violations of the country’s strict dress code. Ms Alidoosti, who is not Kurdish, wrote a poem to accompany the photo on Instagram. She wrote: “Your latest absence, the migration of songbirds, is not the end of this rebellion.” The 38-year-old reform artist has posted several Instagram posts condemning the clerical establishment in the past. At least five female Iranian actresses have shared photos of themselves online without the mandatory hijab in solidarity with women protesting across the country. The city of Zahedan, located in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan on the Gulf of Oman, has seen the deadliest violence so far in weeks of protests. Read more: Revolutionary Guards chief warns ‘today is last day of protests’ after ‘two more dead’ Iran protests: Secret police carry out daylight kidnappings Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 1:18 Protesters run from gunfire in Iran Iranian officials, who blamed Ms Amini’s death on pre-existing medical problems, claim the unrest has been fueled by foreign enemies, including the US, and have blamed armed separatists for the violence. The country has a theocratic government, meaning its governance systems are based on religious laws and dictates. The protests have become the biggest threat to the Iranian government since the Green Movement protests of 2009. International pressure is also being put on the government for its treatment of the protesters. The rallies have evolved from a focus on women’s rights and the state headscarf, to calls for the ouster of Shiite clerics who have ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
