Iranian Singer Flogged for Song Urging Women to Remove Hijabs
Yarrahi’s case has sparked renewed calls from human rights organizations for Iran to abolish flogging and end its crackdown on free expression.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In a shocking display of repression, Iranian singer and musician Mehdi Yarrahi has been subjected to 74 lashes as part of his punishment for advocating women's right to remove their hijabs, CNN reported on Thursday, citing his lawyer.
The 42-year-old artist, known for his bold defiance against Iran’s strict dress code laws, was arrested in August 2023 after releasing his controversial song Roosarito—Farsi for Your Headscarf. The song’s lyrics, urging women to let their hair flow freely, quickly became an anthem for the movement opposing Iran’s compulsory hijab laws.
According to his lawyer, Zahra Minoui, the flogging sentence was "fully and completely implemented," CNN reported. Yarrahi had originally been sentenced by the Tehran Revolutionary Court to two years and eight months in prison, along with 74 lashes. Although he ultimately served one year behind bars and was fined, the lashing punishment was still carried out.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA previously accused Yarrahi of "releasing an illegal song that is against the morals and customs of Islamic society." His arrest came just four days after Roosarito was released, underscoring the swift crackdown on artists who challenge the regime’s social restrictions.
Yarrahi’s punishment follows a broader pattern of Iran’s hardline approach to dissent. His case comes amid increasing repression against those who challenge Iran’s strict dress code laws. In September 2023, mass protests erupted across the country to mark the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death—a young woman who died in the custody of Iran’s morality police after allegedly failing to wear her hijab properly.
Human rights organizations have long condemned Iran’s brutal enforcement of hijab laws. In December, Amnesty International warned of new draconian measures, including threats of "imposing the death penalty, flogging, prison terms, and other severe penalties to crush ongoing resistance to compulsory veiling."
Yarrahi is not the first Iranian artist to face such cruel punishment. In May 2023, renowned Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof was sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging for so-called "national security crimes." Similarly, in 2015, two Iranian poets were sentenced to 99 lashes each simply for shaking hands with members of the opposite sex and for writings deemed "insulting the sacred."
Yarrahi’s case has sparked renewed calls from human rights organizations for Iran to abolish flogging and end its crackdown on free expression. Critics argue that these extreme measures are not just human rights violations but also signs of a regime increasingly desperate to maintain control over a population that continues to push back against oppressive laws.
For now, Mehdi Yarrahi remains a symbol of defiance—a voice that, despite the pain inflicted upon him, refuses to be silenced.