Iran has detained a teenager who posted dance videos on Instagram and attracted tens of thousands of followers.
Compulsory Hijab was re-instated in Iran after the Islamic revolution in 1979. Women remain subject to discriminatory laws, including in gaining access to divorce, employment, equal inheritance, politics and in the area of criminal law.
State TV broadcast a video on Friday in which Maedeh Hojabri, 18, acknowledged breaking moral norms while insisting that was not her intention. It was unclear whether her statement was made under duress.
Teenage dancer, Maedeh Hojabri, was arrested in Iran. She used to record dance videos in her bedroom and upload them to her instagram with 600K followers.#مائده_هژبرى pic.twitter.com/3EDVR9veV3
— Negar Mortazavi (@NegarMortazavi) July 8, 2018
Her name is Maeade Mahi. Recently she got arrested just because of uploading her dancing videos on her Instagram. If you are a woman in Iran and you dance or sing or show your hair then you are a criminal. If you want to enjoy your true self, you have to brake the laws every day. pic.twitter.com/0eIq5ld5x6
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) July 7, 2018
She had posted around 300 videos on her account, many of which showed her dancing.
Iranian police have said they plan to shut down similar accounts on Instagram, and the judiciary is considering blocking access to the site. Iran already blocks Facebook, Twitter and other social media, though many Iranians access them through proxies and VPNs.
Source: AN-NAHAR
