An Iranian singer went viral after she live-streamed a historic virtual concert on YouTube where she performed without a hijab, despite the Islamic Republic’s efforts to pass a new, stricter law on hijab that many human rights organizations and activists have criticized.
Singing in public is banned for women in Islamic Iran, parliament just passed more stringent hijab laws so this women singer in protest broke both above laws and launched an online concert & sang without the head scarf she has been charged . pic.twitter.com/M7zI01Zr3D
— Iconoclast (@ufosangelsgods) December 14, 2024
27-year-old Parastoo Ahmadi uploaded a 27-minute video of her concert performance on December 11th. In her performance, she sang in a sleeveless dress with her hair down and without a hijab, accompanied by four male musicians. In the video’s caption, Ahmadi described her virtual performance as an "imaginary concert" and invited her audience to "imagine this beautiful homeland" in Iran.
The concert was recorded in a caravanserai, the name for the roadside inns historically built along the Silk Road to provide merchants and travelers a place to rest as they trekked the ancient trade route spanning North Africa to Central Asia. She wrote that it was "where history and our myths intertwine."
"I am Parastoo, a girl who wants to sing for the people I love," the video’s caption said. "This is a right I could not ignore: singing for the land I love passionately."
Iranian female singer was detained by Terrorist Sharia State of Iran for holding a music concert without hijab on YouTube
The world needs more of those heroic females who could fuck those evil religious doctrines#ParastooAhmadi #Iran #Islam#Hijab #Sharia pic.twitter.com/DeJYgZej91— (@Censored_Locks) December 14, 2024
The concert went viral and became one of the most discussed topics on Iranian social media. Despite YouTube being restricted in Iran, Ahmadi’s performance has garnered over 1.5 million views, and clips of the virtual concert have been widely shared online.
Iran prohibits women from singing solo or appearing in public without a hijab. Ahmadi's performance challenged these longstanding restrictions by not wearing her hijab, baring her shoulders, and being the focus of the concert.
The Islamic Republic’s judiciary issued a statement saying the concert was held “without legal authorization and adherence to Sharia principles" and that "appropriate action" would be taken against Ahmadi and her production team. However, they did not specify the charges.
Its a hairy situation over there.
— Sinister Minister (@SinisterPastor) December 15, 2024
Three days after her historic, viral performance, Ahmadi was arrested by Iranian authorities on December 14th in the northern province of Mazandaran, according to her lawyer, Milad Panahipour.
"We have no information about the charges against Parastoo Ahmadi, the arresting authority, or her place of detention," Panahipour said.
The Norway-based human rights organization Hengaw Organization for Human Rights also received a report that two members of Ahmadi’s band, Sohail Faghih-Nassiri and Ehsan Beyraghdar, were arrested on December 14th.
The state-owned Mehr News Agency released a statement saying that Ahmadi was released after an interview with the authorities. Nassiri and Beyraghdar were also released.
Good, women shouldn’t be stepping out of line.
— (@ImperiumFirst) December 15, 2024
"The Mazandaran Police Information Center announced that Ms. Parastoo Ahmadi attended a briefing session after posting a video deemed contrary to cultural norms and values," the news agency said. "She has been asked to appear before judicial authorities."
Born in the northern city of Nowshahr, Ahmadi graduated from Sooreh University with a degree in directing. She spent years playing the piano and creating song covers, which she shared on her Instagram.
The historic virtual concert would not be the first time Ahmadi got in trouble with the authorities in Iran for defying its laws. During the widespread protests against the regime’s mandatory hijab laws in 2022, her rendition of Az Khoon-e Javanan-e Vatan (“From the Blood of the Youth of the Nation”) brought her into conflict with the authorities, who summoned her and searched her home following her performance.
