Video of girls dancing in Tehran goes viral

This video was made in Akbatan, the western region of the Iranian capital, Tehran. Young Iranian girls are seen dancing in western clothes with open hair to Nigerian singer Rima’s song ‘Come Down’. In the background are the tall buildings of the area, which has been one of the main sites of recent protests in Iran.

German journalist Natalie Amiri, who has also been a correspondent from Iran for the German Public Broadcaster, commented on the video, saying that the video contains almost every aspect of civil disobedience against the government.

Iranian journalist Irshad Alijani reports for French media. He wrote that almost everywhere in the world the video was simply a recording of ‘Generation Z’ youth dancing, but in Iran it is a political act, a protest against a religious regime.

In Iran, it is forbidden for women to dance in public. A young blogger couple was recently sentenced to prison for filming themselves dancing in front of the ‘Freedom Tower’ in Tehran. In this incident too, the woman had violated the mandatory hijab law.

Protests against the hijab requirement in Iran began in September, but within days the protests turned into an anti-government movement. The Iranian government and security agencies also appeared to use extreme force against the protesters. So far, thousands of people have been arrested and four young Iranian citizens were even hanged.

Due to the crackdown, street protests seem to be decreasing. However, public protests have started again after recent incidents of girls being poisoned at school. Teachers and parents are demanding an explanation for such incidents while strikes are also seen in schools.