Key Points
- A mural of The Simpsons sitcom character Marge Simpson chopping off her hair has been painted in Milan.
- The mural is in front of the Iranian Consulate in Milan to "celebrate the courage" of those protesting.
A mural of cartoon TV sitcom character Marge Simpson chopping off her hair has been painted in Milan .
The mural, entitled The Cut, features a frowning Marge carrying scissors in her left hand and her iconic blue hair in her right hand.
Italian artist aleXsandro Palombo painted the street art in front of the Iranian Consulate in Milan, to "celebrate the courage" of the women protesting against the government.
Marge Simpson carries a large lock of her blue hair on a mural in front of the Iranian Consulate in Milan. Credit: Alexsandro Palombo
Women in Iran have swept the streets, that has laws mandating the headscarf.
Palombo said his artwork was also to "pay tribute to Mahsa Amini" whose death has left other acts of solidarity being displayed around the world.
Toys that depict characters from The Simpsons, including dolls of Marge, have been banned in Iran since 2012 in a crackdown against the promotion of Western culture for children.
A basketball stadium in Bologna, in Italy's west, also displayed a graphic of a woman cutting her hair on the screen featured on top of the court during a women's national basketball league match.
Alongside the graphic had in red text, translated to read: "Freedom for Iranian women".
Oscar-winning French actors Juliette Binoche and Marion Cotillard have also chopped off locks of their hair on social media to continue the momentum of support internationally.
Iranian schoolgirls ditch their hijabs and join protests
Iranian schoolgirls took off their headscarves and joined anti-government protests sweeping the country on Tuesday.
Students shouted “without honour” as they appeared to kick an education official out of their high school in the city of Karaj, northwest of Tehran.
Many schoolgirls were seen walking without headscarves — a crime punishable by jailing or fines — as they marched through the streets.
“Death to the dictator” and “freedom” were two other chants commonly used among high school students.
Students also burned pictures of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which are found in textbooks and framed in classrooms.
The supreme leader has blamed protesters for violent clashes and has given his full backing to security forces.
