This kind of thing is based on the principle of ihtiyat, precaution: avoiding things that are technically not violations of Sharia provisions so that one doesn’t even come close to violating actual Sharia provisions.

No Pizza for Women. Men Can’t Serve Women Tea. Iran’s TV Censorship Gets Weirder

by Amir Hossein Miresmaeili, Iran Wire, September 29, 2021:

On Monday, September 27, two separate items were shared by Iranian state-controlled media that brought the regime’s ridiculous censorship of women back to the fore. Amir Hossein Shamshadi, head of PR at Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, no less, disclosed on his personal Instagram page that according to a recent “audit” of the organization, directors were no longer permitted to depict men pouring tea for women in their workplaces.

Women, Shamshadi went on, were also not to be shown consuming any red-coloured beverages, sandwiches or pizza, or wearing leather gloves. Images of men and women in domestic environments were also to be specially reviewed by IRIB directors before broadcast.

The IRIB is also responsible for licensing and overseeing Iranian home theatre and streaming platforms, via a subsidiary called Satra. Also on Monday, the latest episode of the Iranian talk show Pishgoo, which airs each week on the Namava streaming site, shied away from showing its own guest’s face. Actress Elnaz Habibi had come on the program to talk to presenter Pejman Jamshidi, but only her voice was heard for the entire, surreal duration.

Viewers were understandably baffled, and veteran actor Amin Tarokh took to Instagram to complain. “I wish the guest’s name had been subtitled, at least,” he lamented. “Because we didn’t see her face at all, had the host not mentioned it [at the beginning], we’d have no idea which artist was being talked about! What pleasure is derived from getting a close-up look at the creators of the program, and a far-off one at the guest, just because they’re a woman? Especially a lady like this who’s very decent. All you get from the IRIB is a voice and no picture.”

Coincidentally, on the same day the Iranian Students Polling Agency (ISPA) published the results of its latest survey on Iranians’ overall interest in the IRIB. Some 1,581 citizens aged 18 and over had the question put to them: “How do you follow the news of the day?”. Just 42 percent cited the IRIB as their preferred source of news, with another 41 percent opting for the internet and social media in the first instance. Smaller numbers preferred other satellite networks, word of mouth or “other means”. Based on ISPA’s previous published surveys, this suggests Iranians’ overall reliance on the IRIB for news has decreased by a full 15.6 percent since March 2019….

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EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.