Iranian authorities arrest singer for performing without hijab

Iranian lawyer Milad Banahipour said that singer Parastou Ahmadi (27 years old) was arrested in the city of Sari, the capital of the northern Mazandaran province, on Saturday.

The judicial authority filed a lawsuit related to Parastou Ahmadi’s performance at the concert. She sang wearing a long black dress without sleeves, without a collar, and without a hijab, and she was accompanied by 4 musicians.

Parastou Ahmadi posted her concert on one of the virtual media platforms (YouTube) a day before, saying: “I am Parastou, a girl who wants to sing for the people she loves. This is a right, singing for a land that I love passionately.” The virtual concert was viewed more than 1.4 million times.

Milad Banahipour told the Associated Press: “Unfortunately, we do not know the charges against Parastou Ahmadi, who arrested her, or where she is being held, but we will follow up on the matter through the legal authorities.”

He added that two musicians in the Parastou band, Soheil Faghih Nasiri and Ehsan Bergdar, were arrested in Tehran on Saturday.

Eastern Kurdistan and Iran witnessed popular uprisings in 2022, after the killing of the young Kurdish woman, Gina Amini (22 years old), after she was arrested by the country’s morality police under the pretext of not wearing the hijab.

Sh-S

ANHA