Iranian star sentenced to 74 lashes for singing with out hijab throughout live performance
Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and seven fellow artists have reportedly been sentenced to 74 lashes each, plus travel and activity bans, after livestreaming a show
Parastoo Ahmadi
An Iranian singer has been sentenced to 74 lashes for performing in a concert two years ago – without a hijab. Parastoo Ahmadi’s concert in 2024 was livestreamed on YouTube.
She performed haunting, mournful songs to an empty space on a dimly lit stage, decorated only with a large Persian carpet at a traditional caravanserai complex, backed by a pianist, drummer, guitarist and bassist, who were all dressed in black.
Parastoo wore a long, strappy gown and deep red lipstick during the gig. Women in Iran are banned from singing in public and are required to dress modestly and wear a headscarf.
Court documents show the criminal court of Qom province convicted her and her backing artists to charges that include offending public decency through the production and publication of “vulgar and immoral content” online.
They were all sentenced to flogging, a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year ban on engaging in artistic activities, the Guardian reports.
The concert was livestreamed on Ahmadi’s own channel in December 2024 and has since racked up around three million views, with many more on reuploads. Her videographer Tahmineh Monzavi said the group has now been punished.
He wrote on social media: “Two years banned from artistic activities, banned from leaving the country, and 74 lashes for all of us.” Monzavi, the musicians and others involved were first detained in December 2024, days after the performance.
At the time, local media said they were later freed on bail, while the judiciary’s Mizan Online said a case had been opened for performing “music without observing legal and religious standards”.
While Iranian state outlets have not confirmed the latest sentencing, Reformist Iranian digital outlet Emtedad also reported the claims on Thursday.
Ahmadi and other participants “were sentenced to 74 lashes, a two-year ban on leaving the country, and a two-year ban on artistic activity”, a post on Emtedad’s Telegram said. It added: “This verdict was issued by the Qom Provincial Criminal Court…
“The charge against them is hurting public decency by producing and publishing vulgar and immoral content on the internet.” Among the lyrics Ahmadi sang were references to young Iranians detained for protesting.
“The time of wine and blossoms came, the gardens dressed in Spring,” was one line. “The captive birds, like my own soul that is in love with its homeland, are filled with longing.”
Legal targeting and corporal punishment of artists is a recurring feature of Iran’s crackdown on cultural defiance and women’s rights. Furthermore women are barred from singing solo in public and must follow strict dress rules, and performances like Ahmadi’s are framed by authorities as a morality offence, “offending public decency” and “vulgar and immoral content” online.
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