Iran's President abandons CNN interview after Amanpour declines head scarf demand

[brooklynite]

Source: CNN

(CNN)Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi withdrew from a long-planned interview with CNN's chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, after she declined a last-minute demand to wear a head scarf.

Some 40 minutes after the interview was scheduled due to start and with Raisi running late, an aide told Amanpour the president had suggested that she wear a head scarf. Amanpour said that she "politely declined."

Amanpour, who grew up in the Iranian capital Tehran and is a fluent Farsi speaker, said that she wears a head scarf while reporting in Iran to comply with the local laws and customs, "otherwise you couldn't operate as a journalist." But she said that she would not cover her head to conduct an interview with an Iranian official outside a country where it is not required.

"Here in New York, or anywhere else outside of Iran, I have never been asked by any Iranian president -- and I have interviewed every single one of them since 1995 -- either inside or outside of Iran, never been asked to wear a head scarf," she said on CNN's "New Day" program Thursday.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/22/middleeast/iran-president-ebrahim-raisi-christiane-amanpour-intl/index.html

[SunSeeker]

1. They were at the UN, not in Iran. Fuck that medieval asshole.

I'm glad she didn't acquiesce.

[mitch96]

13. I bet he did not want to be interviewed. After the young Iranian girl died in custody

b/c of not wearing her head scarf it would be uncomfortable for him.. poor baby..
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/21/1124237272/mahsa-amini-iran-women-protest-hijab-morality-police

[ificandream]

2. She is an excellent journalist. Fox Nudes could take a lesson from her. But they won't.

[hamsterjill]

3. I just love her!!!

She's a fabulous interviewer, and she has some guts! She's been battling health issues, and I believe she's doing well. I hope that continues.

She is one of the few left in my opinion with real journalistic integrity and knowledge. Good for her for standing her ground!!!

[onetexan]

6. yup, Christiane Amanpour is by far the best international journalist out there. Amazing strength &

grit, & asks great questions uninhibited. Good for her to stand up against a sexist jerk!

[eissa]

4. Good for her!

It's a medieval practice that has no place in any civilized society, and it is especially galling that Raisi would demand it of a woman in a country that doesn't adhere to this ridiculous oppression.

[Warpy]

7. Quite a lot of educated women are wearing the hijab in places they don't need to

but they're not the women you think they are. It's only Mediaeval if it's INVOLUNTARY.

This is long, but well worth watching. There are quite a few men you will want to throttle with a smile on your face, but the women wearing veils are another matter, entirely.

But yeah, Raisi is an ass and was probably looking for an excuse to dodge an interview, especially if the interviewer was an icky woman.

[eissa]

12. Stockholm Syndrome

My family is from the Middle East. I understand quite well that even when "voluntary" the societal pressure to conform with the cultural/religious traditions is strong.

The roots of the hijab are this: women are natural-born vixens who lead men to temptation, and therefore must always be modestly attired lest they cause men to stray. It absolves men of all responsibility for their behaviors and places the onus on women. And, yes, I've heard from plenty of women who wear it who insist that it's some form of "feminism" and all I can say to that is that every Saudi cleric must laugh hysterically whenever they hear that.

[Warpy]

15. They stop when they start getting corrected on what's really in the Quran and what is not.

I live in a place with a lot of Middle Eastern immigrants and I've watched them progress from the full robes to the simple hijab. Going without seems to be a step too far for many of them, no matter what reason, and I wouldn't presume to tell any other woman what she may or may not wear. I do sometimes wish there were some fashion police to call, but I digress.

I can see why some would choose it. I can also see the advantage, especially on bad hair days. I even have a lot of sympathy for the girls and women in Birmingham who are wearing the full niqab, I imagine it cuts way down on catcalling.

However, when men with clubs have carte blanche to beat any woman showing an errant lock of hair senseless, it is time for revolution.

[JI7]

22. oh please, women don't put on a niqab to stop catcalling . Do you think women in non Islamic

places like being catcalled ?

[JI7]

23. Yes , and women from the middle east are the ones most speaking out like this

If you follow different social media and the comments sections of women from the middle east on the hijab you can see how much pushback they get from mostly men .

Even the women that say "it should be voluntary" get a lot of hatred and are accused of going against islam .

ANd in Iran specifically majority of women are non religious and the people there have come to hate Islam .

[prodigitalson]

17. by choice,

I know several ME women who wear head scarfs out of tradition but also jeans and t shirt. They date partners of there choice and speak their minds. I have even drunk beer with them on several times and had conversations in which they expressed their distaste of Iran's treatment of women and love American cinema and literature and freedom.

oh, yeah, they are in the US where a beating death from the 'morality' police isn't very likely.

[JI7]

21. If it's truly voluntary they should fight laws that require it . But the fact is that it's not

voluntary in many cases.

And the entire thing is based on misogyny . it's all about women having to restrict herself because of men rather than holding men accountable and expecting men to behave like decent people .

[PatSeg]

9. Yes, that's a lot of nerve

It is like visiting someone's house and demanding that they act or dress according to your preferences.

[maxsolomon]

5. He found an excuse to back out.

If he's seen speaking with a woman who's hair is visible, how does he hold the hard theocratic line on hijab at home?

[crickets]

16. 👆 Exactly. He wanted a photo op

with a western journalist who was willing to wear a head covering, if only a scarf. Otherwise, it's just as you say. He would have seemed weak and hypocritical to the people at home.

[question everything]

8. Many women cover their heads when they visit with Muslim people. Just a matter of respect

Some years back, there was a fire that damaged an apartment building that housed Somali families. The then mayor of Minneapolis did cover her head when she visited the sad area.

I don't think anyone gave her a hard time.

In a similar manner, women who visit with the Pope do cover their heads, and wear veils, I think, too, even if they are not Catholic. I remember former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir met with the Pope and said she looked to the Kennedy women to see what they wore.

Orthodox Jews do seek modesty and will not meet with a woman with exposed arms and a short skirt and exposed cleavage.

Why not show some respect?

about Golda

At first she planned to wear a black shawl because she had seen the Kennedy sisters wearing them at the United Nations when the Pope visited there. The Israeli Ambassador to Rome, Amiel E. Najar, told her that only Catholics wore such shawls, so it was decided that a black hat would be suitable.

But Mrs. Meir, who had no black hat, did not want to buy one because she could not use it afterward. Then, Maariv said, she remembered that she had one at home, left over from old state events, and had it flown to Rome.

https://www.nytimes.com/1973/01/20/archives/mrs-meir-says-tension-marked-talk-with-pope-mrs-meir-says-that.html

[eissa]

10. Because misogynistic practices

are not deserving of respect, regardless of religion.

[yardwork]

11. You missed the fact that this interview was to be in New York.

And you obviously didn't read the part where Ms. Ammanpour noted that she always wears a head scarf while working in Iran.

So, you missed the whole point.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

14. Because ... fuck that?

[JI7]

20. This is such bs. Those things are all rooted in misogyny

but what makes some things worse is when it's required outside of the religious space.

Most women in Iran are non religious and hate Islam.

[kwolf68]

18. FUCK religion

A scourge on our species.

[GenThePerservering]

19. Raisi just didn't want to be faced with hard questions

from a sharp and experienced journalist, so the head scarf thing was his weasel-out. Makes him look like a real dunce.