


Another, entitled Men's Stealthy Freedoms, pokes fun of the women's group with pictures of Iranian men wearing sheets and scarves on their head. Under Islamic law, in force in Iran since the 1979 revolution, women must cover themselves with a hijab or niqab. "Morality police" hand out on a daily basis fines on a daily basis in Iran and verbal notices to women found to have broken the hijab rules, and in some cases make temporary arrests. The last month has not been a good one for women's rights in Iran. Activists are seeking a public flogging as punishment for Leila Hatami, the Iranian actress at the Cannes Film Festival who was this week pictured giving a male film director a kiss on the cheek. Another group of young women were arrested and forced to apologise to the state for "hurting public chastity" after they featured in a Youtube clip singing and dancing to Pharrell Williams's song Happy with their hair uncovered. The incident has highlighted the struggle between Iran's conservatives and those who hope President Hassan Rouhani, who has eased the country's antagonistic stance with the West, might also relax the Islamic Republic's social norms.