The anniversary of civil unrest and protests against the government of Iran associated with the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini is approaching. Rallies have popped up in solidarity worldwide. A flash mob in support of women in Iran at the Venice Film Festival garnered attention Saturday.

To note events in Iran that began on September 16, 2022 to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, about 100 filmmakers, artists and pro-democracy activists joined the flash mob, which took place ahead of the gala screening of Maestro. In support of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in Iran, people carried placards with portraits of the 22-year-old Mahsa. She was arrested for not wearing a hijab correctly by the Morality Police in Tehran while she was visiting from Saqqez, Kurdistan. Festival guests Jane Campion, Damien Chazelle, Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv participated in the flash mob.

Jane Campion is a New Zealand filmmaker. Damien Chazelle is a French-American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv collaborated on a ground-breaking film, Tatami, the first film uniting an Israeli and an Iranian filmmaker as co-directors, which had a world premiere in Venice’s Orizzonti section.

There were also banners for Leila’s Brothers director Roustayi, who it emerged last month had been sentenced to six months in prison on charges of “anti-regime propaganda activity” for screening the family drama in Cannes in 2022.

In other activities in support of the Iran democracy protests, parallel section Giornate degli Autori, screened the under radar film The Sun Will Rise by Ayat Najafi, in a pre-screening event on Wednesday (September 30).

The film revolves around a rehearsal by an Iranian theatre company in Tehran for a performance of the Greek comedy Lisistrata by Aristophanes.

During the scene of the assault on the Acropolis, which was occupied by the women of Athens, the troupe discovers that they have been surrounded by the riot police.

None of these names mean anything to most Americans, including me. I’ve never heard of the films mentioned, either. But, it is important to note continuing support for the women in Iran who are fighting for freedom against draconian control by the Iranian religious authoritarians who rule the country. The death of Mahsa was directly connected to Iran’s mandatory hijab law, in place since 1979. There have been crackdowns against the Iranian Democracy Movement, and Girls of Enghelab protests. During the crackdowns, human rights activists say that abuses against women and girls have been perpetrated by the Morality Police. Hundreds of protesters have been killed. This democracy movement has been the strongest in Iran that has been seen for years.

Activists and relatives of killed protesters are being rounded up by Iranian police ahead of the anniversary of Mahsa’s death. Authorities are trying to head off the likely protests and demonstrations that are being planned. The protests after Mahsa’s death have been the largest Iran has seen in years.

More than 300 people were killed in the protests, including more than 40 children, the UN said in November last year. US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) in January placed the number at more than 500, including 70 children.

Thousands were arrested during months of protests across the country, the UN said in a report in June, citing research released last year by their Human Rights Committee.

Iran executed seven protesters for their involvement in the unrest, according to the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Iranian authorities are doubling down on control measures against women.

Iranian authorities are considering a draconian new bill on hijab-wearing that experts say would enshrine unprecedentedly harsh punitive measures into law.

The 70-article draft law sets out a range of proposals, including much longer prison terms for women who refuse to wear the veil, stiff new penalties for celebrities and businesses who flout the rules, and the use of artificial intelligence to identify women in breach of the dress code.

Experts said the bill, which has not yet been passed, was a warning to Iranians that the regime would not back down from its stance on the hijab despite the mass demonstrations that rocked the country last year.

This is why it is important for freedom-supporting people to not forget about the women in Iran and their bold protests against the country’s leadership. The leaders will not willingly give up their power over the people or allow more freedom to their population. They remain in power due to the draconian measures with which they govern.

The new bill is set to be finalized and voted on in the next two months.

The Morality Police are making a comeback after stepping back during the major protests in Iran.

While not officially disbanded, the morality police had largely pulled back following last year’s protests, which have gradually waned. But earlier this month, police spokesman General Saeed Montazerolmahdi said the morality police would resume notifying and then detaining women who are caught without the Islamic headscarf in public.

The new bill would reclassify failure to wear the hijab as a more severe offense, punishable by a five-to-ten-year prison sentence as well as a higher fine of up to 360 million Iranian rials ($8,508).

That fine is far beyond what the average Iranian could pay, as millions are below the poverty line, Hossein Raeesi, an Iranian human rights lawyer and adjunct professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, told CNN.

Another section states that in order to enforce the new law, Iranian police must “create and strengthen AI systems to identify perpetrators of illegal behavior using tools such as fixed and mobile cameras.” Earlier this year, state media reported that cameras would be installed in public places to identify women who violate the country’s hijab law.

Under the new law, business owners have to enforce the hijab requirement or face steep fines. The bill also targets celebrities who face strong fines, the loss of employment or professional activities, a ban on international travel, and a ban on social media activities. This is why the guests at the Venice Film Festival’s flash mob was a notable show of support for Iranian women and the protests. The Morality Police make examples of celebrities and entertainers in Iran. They are arrested. Some have received death sentences.