“What if I were you?” Fereshte Hosseini’s voice radiates an urgency, as if she is asking the question to herself and at the same time addressing the world.
Born to Afghan immigrants in Iran, Hosseini has risen to prominence in the country’s film industry while challenging societal expectations placed on women in Iran.
“I wanted to earn respect,” she says.
Her words reflect a lifelong struggle for recognition – an arduous journey to rise above the poverty that shaped her upbringing and to confront the prejudices that Afghan migrants face in her adopted country.
Hosseini, 27, is married to fellow actor Navid Mohammadzadeh, an Iranian superstar. She credits her husband’s support and inspiration as the main motivations to continue her career, regardless of the challenges.
When Hosseini enters the cafe in central Tehran where we were supposed to meet, she is wearing a black jumpsuit, her face hidden by large sunglasses that protect her from prying eyes.
She radiates peace and warmth as she describes her journey in perfect English, giving the impression of someone who had to work hard for her success.
Endless balancing act
Hosseini’s success has brought a new set of challenges.
“You have to be careful,” she says about working on international film projects.
Each of her roles, each of her characters, must adhere to the strict Iranian dress code for women, including the obligation to wear a headscarf, says Hosseini.
“This is the big problem now,” she says. “You can only choose scripts that respect Iranian rules.”
She has already had to pass on many parts due to those circumstances, says Hosseini.
In an endless balancing act, women in Iran must constantly gauge how far they can push boundaries.
Two years after nationwide protests erupted over the death of Iranian Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini in police custody — protests that quickly grew into broader demands for women’s rights — the challenges facing Iranian actresses have only grown.
Some of Hosseini’s colleagues have been banned from working, while acclaimed filmmakers such as Mohammad Rasoulof have fled into exile in Europe.
Hosseini also considered leaving when she received an award for her film “Raftan” in Morocco a decade ago.
She had initially planned not to return to Iran, but then changed her mind. “It’s my home here.”
Invisible neighbors
Iran and Afghanistan are linked by a complex history and shared linguistic and cultural roots.
Afghans have been coming to the neighboring country for decades to escape conflict at home or in search of a better life.
Today, the Afghan community is deeply embedded in Iranian society.
Many migrants work in the low-wage sector in big cities, on construction sites, in small supermarkets, as nannies and cleaners – jobs that many Iranians do not want to do.
Hosseini’s family fled Afghanistan about thirty years ago to settle in a suburb of Tehran, where she was born one of seven children.
“We were a big family and we were broke,” she remembers.
Determined to earn respect and recognition, Hosseini decided she wanted to become an actress.
“I can still see how they treated my parents or my sisters at school or on the street just because of who we are.”
“My family wasn’t supportive at first,” she says. “She
thought I was disgracing them.” They have long since changed their minds.
After the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, scores of Afghans fled the country, with many stranded in Iran.
According to the UN refugee agency, about 4.5 million Afghans currently live in Iran, a country of almost 90 million people.
The recent influx of Afghan refugees has led to growing prejudice against the community. In September, the Interior Ministry announced plans to deport 2 million Afghans without legal residency.
Hosseini is no stranger to such attitudes, explaining that as her fame grows, she faces more and more hate on social media.
“It hurt me a lot when I was younger, but not anymore, because I knew it wasn’t real,” she says, recalling how she learned to protect herself from online abuse.
Amid all this, Hosseini says her husband remains a crucial source of strength, driving both her determination and her ambitions.
“When he rehearsed or acted in front of the camera, it was as if something else came out of his soul and his body. I started
thinking, ‘What if I could do that?'”
Building bridges on the big screen
Hosseini was granted Iranian citizenship after marrying Mohammadzadeh – just a formality because she already considers Iran her home country, she says.
She has long been targeting targets beyond national borders.
“I want to grow, to be a person who can act on something and change something,” she says.
Her latest international role in the Serbian drama “Dwelling Among the Gods” has encouraged her to think more extensively about her career as an actress, Hosseini says.
Today, the stage serves as a platform for her to challenge hostility and assert her own identity.
Iranian cinema, Hosseini hopes, could help dismantle prejudices and promote empathy.
“Every time they want to make a film about the Afghan people here… they think of the worst story that can happen.”
Instead of seeing migrants as the “alien other,” she says, we need to cultivate greater understanding.
“All I’m saying is we just have to be open with other people, communicate with them, see what’s in their hearts and in their minds.”
Fereshte Hosseini during an interview in Tehran. Arne Immanuel Bänsch/dpa
Iranian-Afghan actress Fereshte Hosseini hopes that Iranian cinema can help dismantle prejudices against the country’s Afghan community. Arne Immanuel Bänsch/dpa
A man stands in front of a greengrocer in Tehran. According to the UN refugee agency, about 4.5 million Afghans currently live in Iran, a country of almost 90 million people. Many migrants work in the low-wage sector in big cities, on construction sites, in small supermarkets, as nannies and cleaners – jobs that many Iranians do not want to do. Arne Immanuel Bänsch/dpa
