An Iranian singer has been sentenced to 74 lashes for performing a concert without wearing a hijab in an act of defiance against the Islamic regime. Parastoo Ahmadi, 29, has also been prohibited from leaving the country for two years, according to reports.
Several of her musicians and production team received the same sentences. The action occurred in December 2024 during a viral performance livestreamed on YouTube. Ahmadi sang her patriotic song, Az Khoone Javanane Vatan, without wearing a required headscarf, accumulating millions of views. She and her team were arrested and later freed.
"Ahmadi's punishment of 74 lashes for merely singing and appearing without a hijab is yet another reminder that human rights conditions in Iran have not changed, despite the Iranian authorities' wartime propaganda campaign aimed at improving their image," said Bahar Ghandehari, director of advocacy at the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, according to the Guardian.
Parastoo Ahmadi was previously arrested for also performing sans a headscarf during the "Woman, Life, Freedom" demonstrations. The Islamic regime removed her patriotic song from all platforms, and Ahmadi became a symbol of hope for many Iranians after her event.
During her YouTube performance, Ahmadi articulated her resistance, saying, "I am Parastoo, a girl who cannot stay silent and refuses to stop singing for the people she loves. This is my right, one I will never surrender."
"I sing for this land I adore, for the soil of my homeland," she said, according to Women's Voices Now. "Here, in this sacred corner of our beloved Iran, listen to my voice in this imagined concert, and dream of a free and beautiful nation."
Defense attorney Abouzar Zaman told the Iran Wire that the court proceedings included prosecutors arguing that Ahmadi's refusal to wear a hijab amounted to "vulgar" and "obscene imagery." The judge ruled in favor of the prosecution, finding that "the image of a woman not observing the Sharia-compliant hijab" constitutes obscene imagery.
Several of her musicians and production team received the same sentences. The action occurred in December 2024 during a viral performance livestreamed on YouTube. Ahmadi sang her patriotic song, Az Khoone Javanane Vatan, without wearing a required headscarf, accumulating millions of views. She and her team were arrested and later freed.
"Ahmadi's punishment of 74 lashes for merely singing and appearing without a hijab is yet another reminder that human rights conditions in Iran have not changed, despite the Iranian authorities' wartime propaganda campaign aimed at improving their image," said Bahar Ghandehari, director of advocacy at the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, according to the Guardian.
Parastoo Ahmadi was previously arrested for also performing sans a headscarf during the "Woman, Life, Freedom" demonstrations. The Islamic regime removed her patriotic song from all platforms, and Ahmadi became a symbol of hope for many Iranians after her event.
During her YouTube performance, Ahmadi articulated her resistance, saying, "I am Parastoo, a girl who cannot stay silent and refuses to stop singing for the people she loves. This is my right, one I will never surrender."
"I sing for this land I adore, for the soil of my homeland," she said, according to Women's Voices Now. "Here, in this sacred corner of our beloved Iran, listen to my voice in this imagined concert, and dream of a free and beautiful nation."
Defense attorney Abouzar Zaman told the Iran Wire that the court proceedings included prosecutors arguing that Ahmadi's refusal to wear a hijab amounted to "vulgar" and "obscene imagery." The judge ruled in favor of the prosecution, finding that "the image of a woman not observing the Sharia-compliant hijab" constitutes obscene imagery.
