In a historic caravanserai, long before the current regime, women stood barefoot on Persian carpets, singing about their homeland, with no hijabs in sight. But an Iranian court deemed this performance “obscene,” resulting in a sentence of 74 lashes.
One of the singers, Paratu Ahmadi, stated, “This is a right I cannot ignore. I sing passionately for the land I love.”
Ahmadi gained international attention during the 2022 Women, Lives, and Freedom protests following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini. Amini passed away under suspicious conditions while detained by morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab inappropriately.
Ahmadi’s renditions of patriotic songs during protests, like “As Koon-e-Jawanan-e-Vatan” (“From the blood of our country’s youth”), galvanized many. After authorities summoned and searched her home, she continued her activism. In December 2024, she performed a “Caravanserai Concert,” streamed on her YouTube channel from the Deir Gachin Caravanserai — notably without an audience. Dressed in a black dress with bright red lipstick, she chose not to wear a hijab.
The 27-minute performance quickly gathered over 3 million views. In the video, she captioned, “I am a paratu, a girl who wants to sing for the people she loves. This is a right that cannot be ignored. I sing passionately for the land I love.”
However, authorities detained Ahmadi on December 14, 2024, claiming she damaged social norms by producing inappropriate content. She was charged alongside two musicians. Shortly after, they were formally indicted, facing moral security charges but were released on bail.
In a related incident that June, a 19-year-old champion wrestler was executed just eight days after his birthday for participating in protests. Ahmadis, along with eight musicians and crew members, received sentences of 74 lashes each and were banned from traveling or engaging in artistic activities for two years.
Reports indicated that, at the time of the ruling, Ahmadi was not even in Iran.
Court documents labeled her uncovered head and bare shoulders as an “obscene image,” citing Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code and Article 743 of the Computer Crimes Law as grounds for charges. This ruling was made shortly after Iran and the United States reached a memorandum of understanding to resolve a recent deadly conflict in the Middle East.
Mahmoud Amiri Moghaddam from a human rights group based in Norway expressed concern that the Iranian regime might intensify its oppression of women, potentially emboldened by the peace agreement with the U.S.
A recent wave of violence resulted in the death of Ayatollah Khamenei, who had led Iran for nearly four decades. Following his death, his son, a hardliner, acquired a more significant role in the government’s operations.
American-Iranian journalist Masi Alinejad remarked on the situation: “They call America the great devil, and yet they made a deal with the devil. But the woman’s voice frightened them.”
One concerned teacher, Mariam from Mashhad, voiced her frustration, questioning, “Where in the world does a woman’s song get punished by flogging?”
