After the publication of a video of young women dancing without a headscarf, concerns about the protagonists grew in Iran. The women were arrested and forced to make an apology video, it said yesterday on Telegram and Twitter accounts, which were among the first to spread the video last week.
At the same time, a video appeared on online networks in which four women with their heads completely covered regret having danced in a video. The AFP news agency was initially unable to verify the authenticity and circumstances of this video.
The original video with the dancing women had been circulating on online networks in the past week and had become increasingly popular. The five women dance in Tehran with their hair loose to the song “Calm Down” by the Nigerian singer Rema. He had spread the video and wrote: “For all the wonderful women who work for a better world. You are a source of inspiration, I sing with you and I dream with you.”
Heavy violence against new protests
In Iran, people – and especially many women – have been demanding more rights for months. According to human rights activists, security forces used severe violence against new protests in recent protests. In the Kurdish city of Saghes, security forces opened fire on demonstrators, the human rights organization Hengaw reported yesterday. Several people were injured.
Videos on social networks also showed demonstrations in other Kurdish cities. Protest slogans such as “Death to the dictator!” and “Woman, life, freedom” could be heard on the unverified recordings. On the occasion of traditional celebrations around a week before the Persian New Year, activists called for new protests. After the calls for protest, leading police commanders threatened decisive action by the security forces.
Six months after the latest wave of protests began in Iran, the country’s political and spiritual leaders are under considerable pressure. The autumn uprisings plunged the Islamic Republic into one of the worst crises in decades. The trigger was the death of the Iranian Kurd Jina Mahsa Amini in mid-September. She died in police custody after being arrested for breaking Islamic dress codes.
