State media censors in Iran used video editing software to “paint” extra clothes over women they considered immodestly dressed.
Viewers in the Islamic Republic were shown a video feed of the ceremony which blurred excessive flesh, or covered it up with black splodges, as seen here:
This video clip, seemingly lifted from ABC, was broadcast in Iran by the state-run agency ILNA.
It shows a clip of The Salesman, an Iranian-language film, winning the academy award for best foreign language film.
The award was introduced by Charlize Theron, who was wearing a low-cut dress which also left her shoulders and her arms bare.
But as soon as the censors noticed, they covered her exposed skin with a black ‘paint’.
The award was accepted by Anousheh Ansari, a surrogate for director Asgar Farhadi, who stayed in Iran as a protest against President Trump’s travel ban.
Ansari wore a much less revealing costume, but did have a slit on her left side. Throughout her speech ILNA used a blur tool to obscure any exposed skin:
The footage was shared on social media by My Stealthy Freedom, a campaign against Iran’s strict religious dress laws, which sarcastically declared that “the Oscar for the best censorship goes to the Islamic Republic’s Photoshop team!”
As Heat Street has repeatedly documented, Iranian authorities come down hard on women who violate its Islamic modesty rules.
Our other reports have shown how a teenage girl was beaten and punched in the face for wearing ripped jeans in the city of Shiraz.
We also shared video footage from Tehran of a screaming woman being arrested by morality police for wearing her hijab veil incorrectly.