Iranian authorities have arrested a singer who held a virtual concert on YouTube, as reported by a lawyer. Milad Panahipour, an Iranian lawyer, said that Parastoo Ahmady, 27, was arrested in the city of Sari, the capital of the northern province of Mazandaran, on Saturday.
On Thursday, the judiciary had initiated proceedings regarding Ahmady's concert, in which she appeared dressed in a long black sleeveless and collarless dress, without a hijab. She was accompanied by four male musicians.
Ahmady had posted her concert on YouTube the day before, stating: "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 passionately love." This online concert has been viewed over 1.4 million times.
Panahipour told The Associated Press that "we do not know the charges against Miss Ahmady, who arrested her, or where she was detained, but we will follow the matter through legal authorities." He also mentioned that two musicians from Ahmady's band —Soheil Faghih Nasiri and Ehsan Beiraghdar— were arrested in Tehran on Saturday.
Following the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, initially women were prohibited from singing at all, then from singing or dancing solo in front of mixed audiences. Female vocalists could perform for male audiences only as part of a choir. However, they were allowed to sing in a room only for female audiences.
Also, according to Iranian and Islamic law, women are not allowed to appear without a hijab in front of men who are not family members. For practicing Muslim women, covering the head is a sign of piety towards God and modesty in front of men outside their families.
There were protests in Iran in 2022 following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested by morality police allegedly for not wearing her hijab.