Tehran: Iranian authorities have arrested 27-year-old singer Parastoo Ahmadi after she performed in an online concert on YouTube without wearing a hijab.
Parastoo was detained on Saturday, December 14, in Sari, the capital of Mazandaran Province, after she posted her concert video on YouTube on Wednesday, December 11.
In the video, she was seen wearing a sleeveless black dress and exposing her hair, alongside four male musicians.
“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. Here, in this part of our beloved Iran, where history and our myths intertwine, hear my voice in this imaginary concert and imagine this beautiful homeland,” she wrote in the video description.
The video has garnered more than 16 lakh views.
Watch Parastoo Ahmadi’s concert here
“Unfortunately, we do not know the charges against Parastoo, who arrested her, or her place of detention, but we will follow up on the matter through legal authorities,” her lawyer Milad Panahipour was quoted as saying by Associated Press (AP).
Two other musicians from Parastoo’s band, Soheil Faghih Nasiri and Ehsan Beiraghdar, were also arrested in Tehran.
Parastoo, born in 1997 in Nowshahr, Iran, is a directing graduate from Sooreh University. She has experience playing piano and performing song covers on Instagram.
Iranian law mandates hijab after 1979 Islamic revolution, expressing religious faith for many women, but some view it as a restriction on personal freedom.
In 2022, protests erupted in Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained for allegedly violating a dress code.
