Bedsheet or broken condom? Iran's anti-birth control advertisement that popped up on subway triggers row

Iran's hardline government's new advertisement against birth control has triggered a row for its apparent depiction of a "broken condom". After the advertisements, that popped up in the country's subway trains, were labelled irresponsible, many now claim the image was a "crinkled bedsheet over a hospital bed" and not a broken condom as many interpreted it to be. 

The image showed a white phallic-shaped object with a crinkled covering on top of it. "The nurse who healed my mother’s wounds, you are a great lady," read the caption over an image. Below the image, a caption read: "The nurse who was never born" and "Giving an opportunity to future heroes to be born." 

The advertisement soon stoked controversy after a section of Iranians felt it was irresponsible on the part of the government to portray condoms just as a birth control measure. 

London-based Iranian doctor Dr. Shahram Kordasti took to X to express his disappointment, calling it "dangerously misleading". His post read: "Condom use is not just for preventing pregnancy, it plays a much more vital role in maintaining sexual health and preventing sexually transmitted diseases." He said incomplete information was harmful and a sign of the utter irresponsibility of its publishers.

Many criticised the advertisement as an attempt to emotionally portray the use of this contraceptive as equivalent to "depriving a hero of birth."

Another X user, Zaagaah, wrote in Farsi on X: "The use of public property and city facilities, funded by citizens' taxes, to promote such unscientific and harmful views is indicative of faulty public health policy. Instead of promoting a culture of correct use of contraceptives and sexual health education, attempts are made to give even condom use a negative connotation with seemingly motivating statements." 

He added that a study published in 2021 said the prevalence of HPV in Iran was reported to be 38.68 per cent, a figure higher than the average for all five continents. 

However, many soon jumped in to justify the poster, claiming it was misread. "After researching this advertisement, it became clear that it was for hospital sheets, not condoms, and that this was a series of advertisements that were shown on subway signs, and its purpose was to warn about the labour shortage due to declining population growth," @adameaval posted on X, blaming the campaign’s designers for the confusion.