The well-known Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi has been sentenced to corporal punishment after performing an online concert without a headscarf, the Emtedad newspaper reported on Thursday.
Ahmadi and eight members of her band and production team were sentenced by a criminal court in the province of Qom to 74 lashes and a two-year ban on travel and work. The verdict is still subject to appeal.
The court ruling states that the group had disseminated "vulgar and immoral content" online.
In December 2024, Ahmadi streamed a concert with her band from a roadside inn on YouTube, thereby breaching several laws in Iran. Public performances by female singers are banned in the Islamic Republic, and Ahmadi also performed without a headscarf and in a dress.
A recording of the concert currently has almost 3 million views on YouTube.
Protests by Iranian women against the country's strict Islamic laws have intensified in recent years. In 2022, crowds took to the streets under the slogan "Woman, Life, Freedom" to protest against repressive policies.
The demonstrations were violently suppressed, but many women in the major cities are still defying Islamic dress codes as a sign of protest and self-determination.
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