A woman in Iran has been arrested after posting a video of herself singing without a headscarf on YouTube, despite the Iranian parliament passing a new, stricter law on women’s modesty that has been criticized by human rights groups.
Parastoo Ahmadi posted a 27-minute video of her performance on Wednesday, in which she sang in a sleeveless dress with her hair down, accompanied by four male musicians. In the caption, she called it a “fantasy concert” and invited the audience to “imagine this beautiful homeland” in Iran.
The performance was filmed in a caravanserai, the name of the roadside inns that were historically built along the Silk Road to provide merchants and travelers with a place to rest as they traveled the ancient trade route from North Africa to Central Asia. Ahmadi wrote that it was “where our history and myths intertwine.”
“I am Parastou, the girl who wants to sing for the people I love,” the caption read. “This is a right I cannot ignore, singing for the land I love passionately.”
Milad Panahipour, an Iranian lawyer. Ahmadi was arrested Saturday for the performance, he told the Associated Press. He told the outlet he was not aware of the charges against her, the arrest agency or where she was being held.
Iran’s judiciary confirmed that a case had been opened over Ahmadi’s performance but did not specify the charges. The statement, carried by the state-run Mehr News Agency, said Ahmadi was released after an interview with authorities.
“The Mazandaran Police Information Center announced that Ms. Parastou Ahmadi attended a briefing session after publishing a video deemed contrary to cultural norms and values,” the agency said. “She has been asked to appear before judicial authorities.”
The Hengaw Human Rights Organization, a Norway-based organization, said it received a report that two of the men who were performing with her — musicians Soheil Faghih Naseri and Ehsan Bayrakdar — were also arrested. Tightening of hijab laws in Iran
Hardline regimes that have ruled since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution have issued laws requiring women to wear the hijab in the presence of men, although women have resisted the rules at home and abroad.
The controversy over the issue sparked international outrage again in 2022 when a young woman named Mahsa Amini was arrested outside a Tehran metro station for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly. The 22-year-old died just three days later.
The Iranian government has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that Amini died from pre-existing medical conditions. But human rights groups have cast doubt on this, and a UN fact-finding mission confirmed that she was killed “as a result of beatings” by Iranian authorities.
Her death sparked outrage across Iran, prompting women to come out in large numbers to protest despite a violent crackdown by the authorities.
The authorities enforcing modesty laws, often called the morality police, have eased public confrontations with women over their headscarves since the election of President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier this year. Pezeshkian campaigned as a reformist who opposed such morality policing patrols.
But enforcement has not stopped altogether, according to locals, who say police are now instructed to issue warnings rather than take immediate action. So-called “anti-hijab clinics” have also been set up, where women are encouraged to follow the hijab laws through “treatment.”
Despite Pezeshkian’s reformist approach, Iran’s parliament pushed through tougher laws on women’s headscarves earlier this year.
The hijab and chastity law was originally introduced by former President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in May, and was eventually passed in September, according to Human Rights Watch. The law will be in effect for a three-year trial period, and the rights group said it would significantly increase penalties for women who fail to comply.
The new law extends its application to online spaces and increasingly, Human Rights Watch reported, imposes fines for violations based on frequency, imposes travel bans on violators, and includes lengthy prison sentences. The fines alone could prove damaging to many Iranians as the country’s economy struggles under years of sanctions and regional conflict.
UN Human Rights Council experts on Friday called for the law to be repealed, calling it a “comprehensive system of gender-based persecution.”
Pezeshkian himself criticized the law earlier this month, calling it difficult to implement in both a statement on X and an interview on state television.
“We shouldn’t do anything that disrupts the unity and solidarity of society,” Pezeshkian said. “We need to have dialogue and engage in discussions on this issue.”
