Finland’s Foreign Minister, Elina Valtonen, described Iranian television’s blurring of her legs during a broadcast of her meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the UN General Assembly as “sad,” considering this move a reflection of the status of women in Iran.

Valtonen told the Helsinki Sanomat newspaper: “My Swedish colleague sent me the video. My first reaction was to laugh, but I immediately said it was also sad.” She emphasized that she does not change her clothing based on the audience and refuses to attend events that require covering the face or hair. She also raised women’s rights issues in all her meetings with Iranian officials.

The Finnish National Coalition Party, to which Valtonen belongs, responded to the incident, describing it as “a sad example of the violation of women’s rights in Iran,” adding on Instagram: “This behavior reminds us that women worldwide are still subjected to censorship and denied visibility. Every woman has the absolute right to be seen, heard, and live freely.”

This was not the first time Iranian television imposed censorship on women; it previously hid the feet of the British and Swedish foreign ministers during broadcasts of their meetings with Araghchi. This behavior was repeated during the broadcast of Iranian runner Farzaneh Fasihi’s participation in the Paris 2024 Olympics, where the channel only showed the final result while completely blocking the race’s progress.

Iranian television also resorted to using archival footage instead of showing actual scenes during the broadcast of Iranian national rowing team athlete Fatemeh Majllah’s race, sparking widespread criticism on Iranian and global social media.