Aliyah Bhikha
The Seed of the Sacred Fig depicts the history of Iman, a public employee, lawyer and court officer, who is promoted to the Tehran revolutionary tribunal. In his new position, he is pressured by his superiors to sign death warrants without any kind of investigation or sentence. At the same time as the promotion, Iman is given a weapon that later disappears and leads the protagonist to act paranoid and to question his wife’s and daughters’ loyalty.
Over time, we get to know the three women. Najmeh, the mother, illustrates the Iranian tradition and the caretaker function assigned to women in ‘traditional families’. Rezvan, the eldest daughter, has her first contact with the women’s resistance to the morality police while at the university, following the assassination of Mahsa Amini. At last, we get to know Sana, the youngest daughter, who creates a climate of distrust in the family when she hides her father’s gun. This single action forces a change within the family that reflects the country’s political situation and the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ protests that have erupted.
Portrayed in this family are traces of an oppressive judicial system that does not guarantee a fair and equitable process for all citizens, and a patriarchal family in which even the mother reflects a strong internalized misogyny that repeatedly conflicts with her daughters. The daughters represent a new generation of women who refuse to remain hostage to patriarchal moral ideals that push them into the hidden spaces of society.
We immediately see the generational difference through the news channels each woman consumes. The mother, loyal to her husband and country, believes in the news reported by official government propaganda channels. The daughters on the other hand, have access to various social networks where they see content posted directly by victims of the morality police or by activists who resist the regime.
This film by Mohammad Rasoulof is itself an act of resistance. The Iranian director is currently in exile in Europe after being sentenced to eight years in prison and lynching by Iranian courts. The very production of this film, which describes the atmosphere of oppression and limitation of freedom of expression that reigns in Iran, is an exercise in freedom. Mohammad Rasoulof was rarely on set, coordinating with his team from a distance.
In September 2022, Masha Amini died at the hands of the morality police. The young martyr became the symbol of the ‘Women, Life, and Freedom’ movement, which shook the Iranian regime. In the weeks that followed, several students and activists staged protests and were sent en masse to jail. Many removed their veils or cut their hair as a revolt against the regime. During those weeks, more than 500 deaths were recorded, 15,000 people were detained, and seven executions were carried out.
The strength of these young women, who mobilized an entire country in defense of women, shows that in every oppressive regime, women will always be at the forefront of resistance. The cultural revolution that unfolded inspired protests of solidarity around the world, demanding women’s rights over their own bodies.
It is also possible to draw a parallel between the morality police in Iran, which impose the mandatory wearing of the veil on women, and the policies adopted by countries such as France, where women are prohibited from wearing the veil in public spaces. The end of patriarchy necessarily implies a decolonial approach to feminism that does not impose any kind of obligation on women regarding their bodies and how they express themselves.
These women show once again that it is the collective and unified strength that shakes regimes, brings down dictators, and inspires revolutions around the world. The women of Iran, who show us every day that the fight against patriarchy is still being waged at the cost of their lives and that there is no freedom in a society without freedom for women, are the force that continues to drive progressive forces towards a more inclusive and feminist world.
For those who have the opportunity, The Seed of the Sacred Fig is available online and has been widely recognized through nominations and awards. It is worth seeing, not only for Mohammad Rasoulof’s characteristic cinematic beauty, but also for its symbolism of a country in conflict with itself.