Iranian authorities have arrested a feminine singer who carried out a digital live performance on YouTube, a lawyer stated.
Milad Panahipour, an Iranian lawyer, stated Parastoo Ahmady, 27, was arrested in Sari Metropolis, capital of the northern province of Mazandaran, on Saturday.
On Thursday, the judiciary had filed a case relating to Ahmady’s live performance efficiency, by which she carried out sporting a protracted black sleeveless and collarless gown, however no hijab. She was accompanied by 4 male musicians.
Ahmady had posted her live performance on YouTube the day earlier than, saying: “I am Parastoo, a girl who wants to sing for the people I love. This is a right I could not ignore; singing for the land I love passionately.”
The web live performance has been considered greater than 1.4 million instances.
Panahipour advised The Related Press: “Unfortunately, we do not know the charges against Ms. Ahmady, who arrested her, or her place of detention, but we will follow up on the matter through legal authorities.”
He additionally stated two musicians in Ahmady’s band — Soheil Faghih Nasiri and Ehsan Beiraghdar — have been arrested in Tehran on Saturday.
Following the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, girls have been banned at first from singing altogether, then from singing or dancing solo earlier than mixed-gender audiences. Feminine vocalists may carry out for male audiences solely as part of a refrain. However they’re allowed to sing in a corridor for female-only audiences.
Additionally based mostly on Iranian and Islamic regulation, girls aren’t allowed to seem with no hijab in entrance of males who aren’t associated.
In Iran, the hijab — and the all-encompassing black chador worn by some — has lengthy been a political image as effectively, notably after turning into necessary within the years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. For observant Muslim girls, the pinnacle masking is an indication of piety earlier than God and modesty in entrance of males exterior their households.
There have been protests throughout Iran in 2022 following the demise of Mahsa Amini, 22, after her arrest by the nation’s morality police over allegedly not sporting her hijab. Whereas police grew to become hesitant to strictly implement the Islamic gown code — presumably to keep away from even wider demonstrations and shows of defiance — in current weeks the authorities’ tone has modified.
