Iran’s judiciary opens case against female singer after viral ‘imaginary’ concert

(TEHRAN, Iran) — A captivating video of an Iranian woman singer went viral in Iran, showing her performing in an empty venue for an imaginary audience.

Parastoo Ahmadi, a singer and composer, held the performance in one of Iran’s traditional venues while wearing a long black dress and showing her hair — without wearing a mandatory, conservative outfit. She called the performance “Caravansara Concert” and streamed it live on her YouTube channel Wednesday evening.

Within a day of posting, the video amassed nearly 500,000 views on YouTube and a short teaser video of the concert has been viewed nearly 2 million times on Instagram.

By Thursday morning, the Iranian judiciary had opened a case against the singer and the production team, saying it was “an illegal concert.” According to the judiciary news agency, Mizan, the concert “did not comply with the country’s legal and cultural standards.”

The judiciary statement does not specify what charges might be raised against Ahmadi and the production team.

While the concert faces judiciary investigation, some social media users have described the performance as a bold act of defiance against the restrictions the Islamic Republic imposes on women in Iran. Among those restrictions are the ban on women singing solo and showing hair or body parts — except for face and hands — in public places.

Some Iranians have taken to social platforms to hail Ahmadi’s move as “bold and courageous” and others offered praise for her vocal performance. Women’s rights activists said the concert could be seen as a continuation of the women’s resistance movement against the regime, pushing boundaries after the Woman Life Freedom movement.

In 2022 and 2023, hundreds were killed and tens of thousands were arrested, according to rights groups, during the nationwide protests in Iran to defend women’s rights and the betterment of life. The protests were launched after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died in police custody after she was detained for not fully complying with the obligatory hijab rules.

“This uprising has not stopped. Every day it gives birth to new heroes and sends them to the stage to fight the forces of darkness, death, and destruction,” Iranian journalist and women’s rights activist Faranak Amidi wrote in a post on her Instagram page. “Not with weapons, violence, blood, and bloodshed, but with art, creativity, vitality, joy, singing, dancing, and stomping,” Amidi added.

In a poignant note on the YouTube video, Ahmadi introduces herself as a girl who wants to sing for the people she loves.

“A right that I could not refuse. Singing for the land I love with all my heart,” she wrote.

At the beginning of her performance, she talked to an imaginary audience and greeted them as if it was a real concert with an audience present.

Some said they find the moment “deeply touching” and “captivating,” as it shows Ahmadi’s love of singing for an audience she is deprived of having and the audience who would have loved to be there, but could not attend.

The Islamic Republic has a record of making cases against artists and singers and have accused and punished them for various charges, including propaganda against the regime.

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