25 July 2017

Azadeh Namdari: Backlash over conservative Iranian television host

Iranian state television presenter Azadeh Namdari has faced accusations of hypocrisy on social media after a video emerged showing her drinking beer and not wearing her hijab while on holiday in Switzerland.

Alcoholic drinks are banned in Islam and in Iran, where it is the law for women to wear the headscarf.

It is not clear whether the TV presenter was drinking alcoholic or alcohol-free beer.

Namdari is known in Iran as a proponent of the Islamic dress code.

A photo of her in full hijab was once published in the conservative Iranian newspaper Vatan-e Emruz under the headline: "Thank God, I wear the veil". [BBC] Read more