20 June,2026 11:44 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Iranian singer Parastoo (Pic/Google Images)
Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi has reportedly been sentenced to 74 lashes after performing without a hijab in a livestreamed concert that went viral in 2024. The ruling also includes a two-year travel ban and restrictions on her artistic activities. The punishment has drawn sharp criticism from human rights organisations.
Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight members of her production team have reportedly been sentenced to 74 lashes after a 2024 concert livestream in which she performed without a hijab. The ruling has drawn criticism from human rights groups, who say it reflects continued restrictions on artistic expression and women's freedoms in Iran.
According to court documents, the criminal court of Qom province sentenced the artists to flogging, a two-year ban on leaving the country, and a two-year ban on engaging in artistic activities on charges that include offending public decency through the production and publication of "vulgar and immoral content" online.
Bahar Ghandehari, the director of advocacy at the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, told The Guardian, "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."
For the unversed, in December 2024, the 29-year-old singer performed the patriotic song Az Khoone Javanane Vatan (From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland) without a hijab in a livestreamed performance that went viral. She was briefly detained, along with several musicians, shortly after its release before being freed. Since its publication, the video has received millions of views on YouTube, and authorities subsequently filed a formal case over its distribution.
While Parastoo's incident raises many questions, another Iranian actress, Mandana Karimi, recently opened up about the atrocities in the country amid the West Asia crisis.
In an interview with NDTV, the 37-year-old emphasised the years of struggle faced by the Iranian people. "For years, people inside Iran have protested with our bare hands. We have lost people," she said.
Karimi said, "We have lost mothers, kids, universities - the list just goes on and on. No one celebrates deaths lightly. But this regime, what they have done to us... and I'm sure you've seen the videos from the past couple of months - January 8 and January 9 - when the mass murder of 1,000 people happened."
