Iranian singer lashed 74 times for not wearing hijab during live performance: Who is Parastoo Ahmadi?

Iranian authorities have whipped singer Parastoo Ahmadi 74 times for not covering her head during a concert livestreamed on YouTube and for publishing "vulgar and immoral content", The Guardian reported.The ruling, which reportedly includes a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year prohibition on engaging in artistic activities, has not yet been made public, the report added.All women in Iran have been required by law to cover their heads and necks since shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.According to Bahar Ghandehari of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, the flogging sentence highlights what rights groups view as an attempt by Iranian authorities to deter cultural dissent and silence independent artistic voices.“Ahmadi’s punishment of 74 lashes for merely singing and appearing without a hijab is yet another reminder that human rights conditions in Iran have not changed, despite the Iranian authorities’ wartime propaganda campaign aimed at improving their image,” Ghandehari told The Guardian.‘Apartheid against women’Journalist Masih Alinejad said in a post on X that the Iranian government appears to view a woman's voice as a greater threat than any global superpower.“A regime that whips women for showing their hair and singing, there’s not a normal government. This is called apartheid against women,” Alinejad wrote.Parastoo Ahmadi and the other musicians named in the case have not yet publicly commented on the flogging sentence or the ban.The Iranian government's enforcement of its strict modesty regulations has triggered widespread outrage on social media.One X user said, “How terrifying must an ideology—”‘religion’—be in which a woman’s singing is punished almost as severely as kidnapping and rape.”Others argued that such “crimes” should not go unchallenged.Another user questioned how singing could be treated as a criminal offence in the 21st century, writing, “In what world is singing a crime punishable by 74 lashes?”Meanwhile, one X user described the Islamic Republic of Iran as “the enemy of women, of music, of joy, and of life itself.” IranWho is Parastoo Ahmadi?Iranian singer and composer Parastoo Ahmadi rose to international prominence after openly challenging restrictions imposed on female performers in the country.She attracted global attention in December 2024 when she held what she described as an "imaginary concert" at a historic caravanserai in Iran. During the performance, Ahmadi appeared without a head covering and wore a sleeveless black dress while livestreaming the event on YouTube.The concert quickly gained traction online and was widely shared by supporters of the Women, Life, Freedom movement, which emerged following the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody in 2022.The punishment imposed on Ahmadi has drawn criticism from activists and public figures. Moein Khazaeli, a human rights lawyer at Dadban, a legal advisory group that supports Iranian activists, argued that the sentence lacks a legal basis.Khazaeli said, “Singing, performing music and producing or disseminating musical works by women are not criminalised under Iranian criminal law. Consequently, such activities cannot reasonably be construed as the ‘production, distribution or publication of obscene content.’”About the AuthorKanishka SinghariaKanishka Singharia is a Senior Content Producer at Mint with a passion for news, trends, and the stories shaping the digital world. She specialises in spotting viral narratives by constantly tracking social media platforms and turning them into engaging, reader-friendly stories. Her work ranges from fast-paced breaking updates to sensitive human-interest features, blending speed with clarity. With over four years of experience in news and trend reporting, Kanishka has worked with leading organisations such as Hindustan Times and Times Now. She moves seamlessly between profiling business leaders and telling the stories of everyday people, covering national developments