Latest news with #YourHeadscarf
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Yahoo
Popular Iranian singer who urged women to go without hijab is lashed over alcohol conviction
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian officials have flogged a popular singer who posted a song online urging women to remove their mandatory headscarves over a conviction for possessing and consuming alcohol, his lawyer and authorities said. Mehdi Yarahi was flogged on Wednesday, his lawyer Zahra Minuei wrote on the social platform X. Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency, quoting an anonymous official, said the sentence was for him drinking and having alcoholic drinks, not his music. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The lashes were 'fully carried out in Branch 4 of the Enforcement of Sentences Office at the Tehran Morality Security Prosecutor's Office, and Mr. Mehdi Yarahi's case has been closed,' Minuei said. Yarahi wrote and performed the song 'Roosarito," Farsi for 'Your Headscarf." The music video urged women to remove their hijabs and featured uncovered women dancing. Yarahi's initial arrest in August was believed to be linked to the video, which is still available online. Yarahi wrote on X apparently after the flogging: 'He who is not willing to pay a price for freedom is not worthy of it.' On the streets of Iranian cities, it's becoming more common to see a woman passing by without a mandatory headscarf, or hijab, after the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the mass protests it sparked in 2022. Amini, 22, died on Sept. 16, 2022, in a hospital after her arrest by the country's morality police over allegedly not wearing her hijab to the liking of the authorities. The protests that followed Amini's death started first with the chant 'Women, Life, Freedom.' However, the protesters' cries soon grew into open calls of revolt against 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The monthslong security crackdown that followed killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained. Only Afghanistan and Iran mandate women wearing the hijab. Meanwhile, online videos showed uncovered women attending the 12th Iran Interior Design Award ceremony, as well as men and women shaking hands. The judiciary's Mizan news agency reported Thursday that prosecutors had announced legal action against all organizers, hosts and individuals seen violating Iran's laws.
The Hill
07-03-2025
- The Hill
Popular Iranian singer who urged women to go without hijab is lashed over alcohol conviction
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian officials have flogged a popular singer who posted a song online urging women to remove their mandatory headscarves over a conviction for possessing and consuming alcohol, his lawyer and authorities said. Mehdi Yarahi was flogged on Wednesday, his lawyer Zahra Minuei wrote on the social platform X. Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency, quoting an anonymous official, said the sentence was for him drinking and having alcoholic drinks, not his music. The lashes were 'fully carried out in Branch 4 of the Enforcement of Sentences Office at the Tehran Morality Security Prosecutor's Office, and Mr. Mehdi Yarahi's case has been closed,' Minuei said. Yarahi wrote and performed the song 'Roosarito,' Farsi for 'Your Headscarf.' The music video urged women to remove their hijabs and featured uncovered women dancing. Yarahi's initial arrest in August was believed to be linked to the video, which is still available online. Yarahi wrote on X apparently after the flogging: 'He who is not willing to pay a price for freedom is not worthy of it.' On the streets of Iranian cities, it's becoming more common to see a woman passing by without a mandatory headscarf, or hijab, after the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the mass protests it sparked in 2022. Amini, 22, died on Sept. 16, 2022, in a hospital after her arrest by the country's morality police over allegedly not wearing her hijab to the liking of the authorities. The protests that followed Amini's death started first with the chant 'Women, Life, Freedom.' However, the protesters' cries soon grew into open calls of revolt against 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The monthslong security crackdown that followed killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained. Only Afghanistan and Iran mandate women wearing the hijab. Meanwhile, online videos showed uncovered women attending the 12th Iran Interior Design Award ceremony, as well as men and women shaking hands. The judiciary's Mizan news agency reported Thursday that prosecutors had announced legal action against all organizers, hosts and individuals seen violating Iran's laws.
Associated Press
07-03-2025
- Associated Press
Popular Iranian singer who urged women to go without hijab is lashed over alcohol conviction
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian officials have flogged a popular singer who posted a song online urging women to remove their mandatory headscarves over a conviction for possessing and consuming alcohol, his lawyer and authorities said. Mehdi Yarahi was flogged on Wednesday, his lawyer Zahra Minuei wrote on the social platform X. Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency, quoting an anonymous official, said the sentence was for him drinking and having alcoholic drinks, not his music. The lashes were 'fully carried out in Branch 4 of the Enforcement of Sentences Office at the Tehran Morality Security Prosecutor's Office, and Mr. Mehdi Yarahi's case has been closed,' Minuei said. Yarahi wrote and performed the song 'Roosarito,' Farsi for 'Your Headscarf.' The music video urged women to remove their hijabs and featured uncovered women dancing. Yarahi's initial arrest in August was believed to be linked to the video, which is still available online. Yarahi wrote on X apparently after the flogging: 'He who is not willing to pay a price for freedom is not worthy of it.' On the streets of Iranian cities, it's becoming more common to see a woman passing by without a mandatory headscarf, or hijab, after the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the mass protests it sparked in 2022. Amini, 22, died on Sept. 16, 2022, in a hospital after her arrest by the country's morality police over allegedly not wearing her hijab to the liking of the authorities. The protests that followed Amini's death started first with the chant 'Women, Life, Freedom.' However, the protesters' cries soon grew into open calls of revolt against 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The monthslong security crackdown that followed killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained. Only Afghanistan and Iran mandate women wearing the hijab. Meanwhile, online videos showed uncovered women attending the 12th Iran Interior Design Award ceremony, as well as men and women shaking hands. The judiciary's Mizan news agency reported Thursday that prosecutors had announced legal action against all organizers, hosts and individuals seen violating Iran's laws.
The Independent
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Iranian singer Mehdi Yarrahi given 74 lashes over protest song urging hijab removal
Mehdi Yarrahi, an Iranian musician known for protest songs that call out his country's strict dress codes for women, was given 74 lashes as part of a punishment. His lawyer, Zahra Minuei, confirmed in a post on X that the punishment had been carried out at Branch Four of the Moral Security Prosecutor's Office in Tehran, marking the end of a criminal case against Yarrahi. 'The flogging sentence has been carried out,' she wrote, according to an online translation. Yarrahi, 42, was arrested in August 2023 and then sentenced by the Tehran Revolutionary Court to two years and eight months in prison in addition to 74 lashes. He ended up serving a year of his sentence and served out the rest of his term in house arrest with an ankle monitor after posting bail. 'We wanted to lift the bail, but they said it was conditional on the flogging sentence being carried out,' Ms Minuei said. At the time, Yarrahi had written on X: 'I am ready to receive the sentence of 74 lashes, and while I condemn this inhuman torture, I make no request to cancel it.' Yarrahi was accused of 'releasing an illegal song that is against the morals and customs of Islamic society ' following the release of his song 'Your Headscarf (Roo Sarito)' in September 2023. The song was released on the first anniversary of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' uprising, which began after the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating Iran 's mandatory headscarf law. 'Take off your scarf, the sun is sinking/Take off your scarf, your pleasant perfume fills the air/Take off your scarf, let your hair flow/Don't be afraid, my love! Laugh, protest against tears,' the lyrics go, according to a translation by After news of his flogging broke, Yarrahi posted a message on his social media, thanking his lawyers and writing: 'You brought glass to break our stone…Whoever is not willing to pay the price for freedom is not worthy of it.' Under Iranian law, based on Tehran's interpretation of Sharia, women and girls who have reached puberty must cover their heads with scarves and bodies with long, loose-fitting clothing. The rules were made even stricter last year after Iran's parliament passed a new 'hijab and chastity' law that would increase the prison sentence to 10 years and a fine for dressing "inappropriately" in public places. Iranian human rights activist and Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi condemned the flogging in a statement, writing: 'The execution of Mehdi Yarrahi's flogging sentence is retaliation for his support of the women of Iran. The lashes on Mehdi's body are a whip against the proud and resilient women of Iran and the thriving, powerful spirit of the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' movement. 'On the eve of 8 March, by rejecting the 'gender privilege' in singing, Mehdi Yarrahi once again stood alongside protesting, justice-seeking women and the people in pursuit of their demands. 'May we, as women, protest the regime's brutality against a dissenting artist, strengthening the chain of solidarity and putting an end to the misogynistic religious tyranny. Mehdi Yarrahi stood against the suppression of women's voices – let us be his voice.' Actor Taraneh Alidoosti, who spent almost three weeks in jail over her support for the 2022 protests, posted in support of Yarrahi on Instagram, writing: 'Shame on backwardness, shame on torture, shame on violence, shame on anti-human laws, and shame and disgrace on our helplessness', according to an online translation. Last year in October, 23-year-old Roya Heshmati, a vocal critic of the country's controversial hijab laws, was whipped 74 times by the police for 'violating public morals' by sharing a picture in which her head was not covered. In May 2024, renowned director Mohammad Rasoulof was sentenced to eight years in prison, flogging, a fine, and the confiscation of property after the court found his films and documentaries, along with his public statements, to be 'examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the security of the country'.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Yahoo
Iranian musician flogged 74 times over protest song in support of women's rights
March 6 (UPI) -- Iranian musician Mehdi Yarrahi received 74 lashes as part of his sentence a song supporing women's rights and opposes the Middle Eastern country's draconian hijab laws, his lawyer said. Yarrahi, a singer-songwriter known for his protest music, was arrested in late August 2023 and sentenced to two years and eight months in prison, with one year enforceable, along with a fine and 74 lashes. In December, Yarrahi was released after completing his one-year sentence. On Wednesday, he received the remaining 74 lashes, his lawyer, Zahra Minuei, confirmed in a Farsi-language statement. "Today ... the last part of the sentence ... was fully and completely implemented," Minuei said. "Mr. [Yarrahi's] case was closed." According to Iran activist-run Human Rights News Agency, Yarrahi was arrested on charges of spreading propaganda against the regime, encouraging corruption and depravity and producing and distributing immoral content, among others, following the release of his song, "Roo Sarito," which translates to "Your Headscarf" in English. The Tehran regime deemed the song "unlawful" and "contrary to the values and norms of Islamic society, HRANA reported following Yarrahi's arrest, citing Mizan, the news agency of Iran's judiciary. His arrest came ahead of the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who died in police custody after being detained for violating Iran's hijab laws and beatedn. Amini's death sparked mass women-led protests, which Yarrahi supported. "You brought glass to break our stone," Yarrahi said in a statement published to his X account on Wednesday thanking Minuei and others who had supported him. "Whoever is not willing to pay the price for freedom is not worthy of it. Wishing for liberation..." Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi described Yarrahi's flogging as retaliation for his support of Iranian women. "May we, as women, protest the regime's brutality against a dissenting artist, strengthening the chain of solidarity and putting an end to the misogynistic religious tyranny," she said on X. "Mehdi Yarrahi stood against the suppression of women's voices -- let us be his voice."
