Iranian singer sentenced to 74 lashes for performing without hijab
An Iranian court has upheld a sentence of 74 lashes against popular singer Parastoo Ahmadi over a 2024 concert performed without a headscarf, a ruling human rights groups have called a form of torture.
A court in the Iranian city of Qom has confirmed a harsh sentence against 29-year-old singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight members of her production team, including musicians. The group was convicted in June over an online-streamed concert from 2024 that went viral, amassing millions of views. Judges ruled the performance breached the country's "legal and cultural norms," describing it as "obscene and vulgar."
Under Iran's 2024 "hijab and chastity" law, which has not yet been formally implemented, women found to be "promoting nudity, indecency, unveiling or improper dressing" face fines, flogging, and prison terms of five to 15 years for repeat offences. Lawyers say the verdict, announced last week, was expected, noting that the head of Iran's judiciary recently said the regime should not fear public backlash from a tougher crackdown on hijab non-compliance.
Ahmadi and her crew are expected to be flogged within the next three months. Roya Boroumand, co-founder of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights, said the concert is viewed as an act of defiance not only because a woman sang unveiled, but because she performed old pre-revolutionary songs. Human rights lawyer Moein Khazaeli described the sentence as a form of torture under the UN Convention against Torture, calling it a crime against humanity.
Another musician, Hiwa Seyfizade, was reportedly sentenced last month to four years in prison over a performance, on charges of "promoting corruption and prostitution." Despite years of arrests over hijab enforcement, women continue to appear unveiled in public across Iran — a trend some attribute not to relaxed policy but to sustained defiance by women themselves. This week, students at Allameh Tabataba'i University in Tehran staged protests against mandatory dress codes and deteriorating economic conditions. US-based rights group Human Rights Activists in Iran called the flogging sentence an act of violence intended to intimidate other women into compliance.
