In Iran, women are obligated to wear a headscarf and are forbidden to dance in public. Young women protest against both by means of a dance video.
A group of young Iranian women caused a stir on the internet with a dance video in Tehran. In the approximately 40-second clip, five women in loose clothing without the obligatory headscarf dance in front of blocks of houses in a well-known area of the capital. Users shared the video thousands of times on social media, and the reactions were mostly positive: “Brave women, proud of them” and “Look at iranian females. They are resilient, strong, fearless and unstoppable.” (Look at Iranian women. They are resilient, strong, fearless and unstoppable).
In the background are the high-rise buildings in the Ekbatan district, one of the main locations of the recent wave of protests. The video was already distributed on Wednesday, on the occasion of the feminist struggle day (also: International Women’s Day).
Dancing ban and headscarf obligation
Women are forbidden from dancing in public in Iran. Violations of the headscarf requirement are also punished. After the protests in autumn against the Islamic system of rule, however, more and more women are demonstratively ignoring the dress code. The uprisings plunged the political leadership into one of the worst crises in decades. The trigger was the death of the Iranian Kurd Jina Mahsa Amini in mid-September. She died in police custody after being arrested for breaking Islamic dress codes. In the meantime, everyday life has returned to Iran.
A young couple of bloggers was recently sentenced to five years in prison after a dance video in front of the “Tower of Freedom” in Tehran went viral. The convicted woman was also not wearing a headscarf. In 2014, a group of teenagers were arrested for dancing to the song “Happy” by US singer Pharrell Williams and posting the clip on YouTube.
(APA/red)