Iran's official state news agency published a human-interest story about love, war, and a baby no one wanted. Within hours, it had deleted part of its own report. Days later, the agency's boss was summoned to court.The story itself was unimpeachable by any official standard.IRNA's photo essay, titled A Mother's Love, 40 Days Long, followed Sara Kan'ani, a 37-year-old writer and artist in Tehran, who took in an abandoned newborn through a temporary foster care program run by the welfare organization Behravish during Iran's 40-day war with the United States and Israel.She named the baby Ahu -- after a line drawn from the poet Hafez. She tried to adopt her permanently. She was told that single women are de-prioritized. After 40 days, she handed the baby back.IRNA framed the story as a tribute to volunteerism, welfare institutions, and what it called "family-centered culture." It was, in every sense, state-approved content.The problem was the photographs.Several images showed Kan'ani without an Islamic head scarf -- inside her own home. Wearing a hijab is mandatory in Iran, though enforcement has grown increasingly inconsistent since the 2022 "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising, as more women defy the authorities.
Iranian State Media's Foster Child Story Lands Editor In Court -- Over A Head Scarf
A state-approved photo story intended to celebrate motherhood and volunteerism became a political controversy in Iran because the images used showed a woman unveiled at home. The photos were deleted within hours and the state news agency’s boss was later summoned by the authorities.
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