Iran Has Arrested These Two Teen Girls For Dancing In Public At A War Memorial
Dancing, especially by women and between men and women, has been banned in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran’s so-called "morality" police have arrested two teenage girls in Tehran for dancing in public and violating the country’s mandatory hijab law.
On Jan. 24, the girls, whose identities have not yet been revealed, shared a video on social media of them dancing at the "Monument to the Unknown Martyrs of the Sacred Defense," a cemetery for soldiers killed during the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988.
The video quickly went viral on social media.
Police said the video sparked “strong public protests” from the killed soldiers’ families, which led them to arrest the girls and hand them "over to judicial authorities.”
Police said the girls’ clothes were "inappropriate" and dancing in public goes against Islamic Sharia law, Tasnim News Agency reported.
The “morality” police shut down the girls’ Instagram accounts after arresting them
Dancing, especially by women and between men and women, has been banned in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with clerics calling it a "sinful act" and an "act of lust," according to Iran International.
Women in Iran are also required to cover their hair and neck and wear loose- fitting clothes in public.
Despite the ban, Iranians have continued to share videos of themselves dancing in public.
In January 2023, an Iranian couple were accused of "promoting indecency" and "spreading propaganda against the regime" for posting a video of themselves dancing in public on Instagram and received a 10-year prison sentence.
In April 2024, Iranian authorities arrested a 70-year-old man for dancing and singing at a fish market, charging him with "instigating against the government."
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Isha Jain
Isha Jain
