Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi has been sentenced to 74 lashes after she performed in a YouTube video without wearing a hijab, the head covering required by law for women in Iran.
The sentence was given by the Criminal Court of Qom Province. Eight members of her production team, including musicians, have also been sentenced to flogging. The court also gave a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year ban on artistic activities for what authorities called producing and sharing “vulgar and immoral content” online.
The 29-year-old singer performed the patriotic song “Az Khoone Javanane Vatan” in December 2024 without a hijab, in an online performance that went viral and has since gathered millions of views on YouTube. Ahmadi described the performance as an “imaginary concert,” held at the historic Dayr-e Gachin Caravanserai in Iran. Iran’s strict rules forbid women from singing solo in front of mixed-gender audiences.
She was charged under Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code, which criminalizes acts that offend public decency, such as appearing without a hijab.
Human rights groups have criticized the sentence. Rights groups and lawyers say this case follows a pattern by Iranian authorities of targeting artists to silence cultural dissent. The case has become a symbol of the larger fight over women’s rights and artistic freedom in Iran, where mandatory hijab laws are still enforced despite years of public protests.
