Farnoush Hamidian uses modeling as a form of protest

DW (English)

For Farnoush Hamidian, an Iranian exile and successful model based in Germany, her job isn't just about fashion. It's also a form of protest for the rights of Iranian women back home.

Transcript

00:00This Iranian woman is challenging her home country.

00:06I hope for the day that no teenager will be killed because she wants to dance or she wants to talk.

00:17Farnoosh Hamidian walks a line between the glamorous world of fashion and the protests of young women in Iran.

00:26Farnoosh has herself been arrested by the morality police in Iran.

00:35This video shows how the model in exile has become a role model and how she campaigns for young Iranian women.

00:43This is Farnoosh Hamidian. I'm an international Iranian model.

00:54And I live in Germany and I stand for the Iranian women.

01:00Farnoosh is in Paris for Fashion Week where she's meeting with French designer Stéphane Rolland.

01:06He has booked her again for his show and wants to alter the clothes he has designed for her.

01:14Just covering the dress and everything is transparent.

01:18Persian girl out there.

01:22The dress is very revealing. This has a special poignancy for the Iranian exile.

01:28Being a model as an Iranian woman is already an achievement because in my own country it's forbidden by law.

01:38And I was doing it secretly. So the soul of this job for me is a protest already.

01:51She and her three siblings grew up happy in the shadow of Mount Damuvand, a dormant volcano near the Caspian Sea in northern Iran.

02:00She began modeling as a teenager.

02:06In the Islamic Republic, modeling is illegal without a headscarf.

02:10Fashion shows here only take place underground. In public, women have to follow strict rules of attire.

02:16Well, the first time I was arrested by morality police, I was 13. I was just a child.

02:25And I thought I was doing something wrong.

02:29And when I was 16, I was taken, I was assaulted, sexually raped and all of that.

02:39It broke me. It shattered me into so many pieces. It took me decades to put it back together.

02:47In 2014, Farnoosh left her home for Europe.

02:52Although she had studied architecture, she was quickly signed to international modeling agencies.

02:57The Iranian's face is especially popular in the Arabic fashion scene, often appearing on the cover of Vogue Arabia.

03:05She frequently appears at major fashion shows, such as this one in Paris.

03:09The level of freedom, that was the first thing that blew my mind.

03:14At first, when I moved to Europe, I just wanted to put headphones on and sing while walking in the street.

03:22And I felt like people think I might be crazy, but nobody would understand how free I was and what freedom actually meant.

03:35In Iran, this freedom is still only a dream, especially for women.

03:40After 22-year-old Gina Massah Amina was killed in September 2022 for wearing her headscarf improperly,

03:49people took to the streets, risking their lives for a little more freedom.

03:55So that gave me another comeback of my traumas.

03:59And I was like, you know what, I can't see this happening over and over, over and over again.

04:05I need to do something about it.

04:08Farnoosh uses her fame and her Instagram channel to support young women in Iran.

04:13She criticizes, denounces and coordinates help from exile.

04:17She and her parents have been threatened.

04:20She herself cannot return to Iran for fear of being arrested.

04:28I hope that a six-year-old girl won't be scared of showing her hair at school anymore.

04:39It's the modest wish of a strong woman.

04:42Farnoosh Hamidian does what she can to bring a little more freedom to Iran.

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