Teenage girls are arrested by Iran’s morality police for dancing to Selena Gomez song

From the Daily Mail, Indy100 and Iran International

Five teenage girls have been arrested in Iran after dancing to a Selena Gomez song without headscarves.

The Islamic republic enforces strict laws regarding dancing and other forms of public entertainment, particularly for females.

A short video shows the teenagers dressed in Western clothing moving to ‘Calm Down’, a remix of the Afrobeats hit by Nigerian singer Rema and popstar Gomez.

Iranian authorities are after these girls to arrest them for the crime of dancing in international women’s day.
In the eyes of Islamic republic, these girls are master criminals for showing their hair, happiness and dancing. That is why school girls are being the target of… https://t.co/hZfIVlsJM8 pic.twitter.com/24jc2gsbMe

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) March 10, 2023

The clip was filmed in Ekbatan Town in western Tehran and coincided with International Women’s Day on March 8, and has been described as an act of defiance against the Iranian regime.

`Commenting on the news in an Instagram Story, Gomez shared a news article and wrote: “[Love] to these young women and all the women of Iran who continue to be courageous demanding fundamental changes. Please know your strength is inspiring.”

Iranian security forces detained them for 48 hours. Their act was clearly meant to defy the government that forbids dancing and singing by women, specially without hijab.

The girls were then forced to record another video repenting of their actions while their heads were covered with headscarves. The immediate action of the Islamic Republic to arrest the “girls of Ekbatan” angered many Iranians, prompting them to record similar videos while dancing to the song to support the teenage girls.

Since then, the Twitter account Shahrak Ekbatan, which reports on the town, claimed the girls were arrested by the authorities, held for two days and “forced” into making a confession video with their hair covered.

After the clip did the rounds, the Twitter account Shahrak-e Ekbatan reported that the girls’ dance instructor, surnamed Mitra, had been interrogated.

Ekbatan girls, whose dance video went global, after being warned by the judiciary, they were detained for 2 days. Now, a forced confession has been taken from them and it has been uploaded on the page of dance instructor Khanom Mitra. Has their force reached our daughters? We will show them what’s going on!

Rema said “To all the beautiful women who are fighting for a better world, I’m inspired by you, I sing for you, and I dream with you,”