Jafar Panahi Challenges The Iran Government

In the article shown below, Jafar Panahi challenges the Iranian government by openly defying against the twenty-year film-making ban the government has placed upon him. This dates back to 2010, where the Iranian government sentenced Panahi to six years in jail and placed a twenty-year ban, apparently for publishing propaganda and his supposed crimes against national security through his movies. However, despite his imprisonment and ban, he has continued to produce movies illegally, the most recent one being the Taxi. Panahi is defying authority in a simple act of feigning ignorance ̶ by producing more films every year and proceeding to smuggle them out of the country. The main reason why Panahi is resisting government orders is because it is
his belief that what they are doing is wrong. It is also his belief that by preventing him from producing, the government is infringing upon his right to freely express his ideas through art. The ban, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 19 (which Iran has voted in favour of), is violating the right Panahi has for expression and opinion. Moreover, his constant rebellion towards the government is a form of expressing anger at the restrictions the Iranian society imposes and the government's oppression. Despite his struggles, Panahi's defiance did have a positive result as his imprisonment received a huge international response and he was eventually placed under house arrest. However, Panahi's acts of insubordination has still led him to several legal problems with the government, which usually resulted in his arrest. Through Panahi's example, anyone can see the dangers and hardships in disobeying authority and the greater power.