Parastoo Ahmady, a 27-year-old Iranian singer, was arrested on Saturday in Sari City, located in the northern Mazandaran province, after performing a virtual concert without wearing a hijab. According to Iranian lawyer Milad Panahipour, Ahmady’s arrest came shortly after the judiciary filed a case related to her performance.
Ahmady had posted the concert to YouTube, where it quickly gained popularity, accumulating over 1.4 million views. In the performance, she wore a long, black sleeveless dress without a hijab, accompanied by four male musicians. In her post, she expressed her desire to sing for the people she loves, emphasizing the importance of exercising this right.
Following the concert, Panahipour revealed that two of Ahmady’s band members, Soheil Faghih Nasiri and Ehsan Beiraghdar, were arrested in Tehran. However, the lawyer noted that the specific charges against Ahmady, the identity of the authorities who arrested her, and her current location of detention remain unclear.
Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iranian laws have restricted female singers, initially banning them from performing entirely, and later limiting them to performing for women-only audiences. Female solo vocalists have faced strict regulations about performing before mixed-gender audiences.
The arrest of Ahmady highlights the ongoing tension between artistic freedom and the government’s censorship laws in Iran.
