Islamic Rule and Iranian Women in the Films of Hatef Alimardani

Abstract This article reconsiders some Western textual and visual (mis)representations of Muslim women as mentally imprisoned by Islamic rules and patriarchy through analyzing three prominent films by the Iranian screenwriter and director, Hatef Alimardani (b. 1976). It begins by a brief discussion of the portrayals of women in Islamic societies promulgated by Anglo-American media. Then, by examining For Pooneh’s Sake (Beh Kh ā ter-e Pooneh, 2013), The Nameless Alley (Kucheh-ye Bin ā m, 2015), and Ā b ā J ā n (2017), box-office hits offering sociocultural critiques through realistic cinematic depictions of contemporary Iranian society, it demonstrates how Alimardani’s films dismantle stereotypical and essentialist portrayals of Muslim women by Western media and scholarly works, and thus, help us better understand the lived experience of women in Islamic countries. Abstract This article reconsiders some Western textual and visual (mis)representations of Muslim women as mentally imprisoned by Islamic rules and patriarchy through analyzing three prominent films by the Iranian screenwriter and director, Hatef Alimardani (b. 1976). It begins by a brief discussion of the portrayals of women in Islamic societies promulgated by Anglo-American media. Then, by examining For Pooneh’s Sake (Beh Kh ā ter-e Pooneh, 2013), The Nameless Alley (Kucheh-ye Bin ā m, 2015), and Ā b ā J ā n (2017), box-office hits offering sociocultural critiques through realistic cinematic depictions of contemporary Iranian society, it demonstrates how Alimardani ’s films dismantle stereotypical and essentialist portrayals of Muslim women by Western media and scholarly works, and thus, help us better understand the lived experience of women in Islamic countries.