A video of an Iranian woman defying the country's laws by dancing in a Tehran's subway train has gone viral on the Internet in recent days.
The unidentified woman, who also loses her hijab head covering during the dance, gyrates wildly to a song the British pop group Little Mix as fellow passengers look on.
The Independent says:
"Her dancing may seem innocuous enough, but the young woman is actually breaking two laws in the ultra-conservative country, where dancing in public is prohibited.
"The woman initially begins with her hijab on her head, but her lively moves cause it to slide off. Other female passengers appear to be trying not to look at her as she moves up and down the carriage, while a couple agree to hold a mobile phone and film her."
The video was posted on a Facebook page called My Stealthy Freedom. The founder of the page, journalist Masih Alinejad, told the Independent that there's a culture war in Iran between the government and young people.
"There are two different lifestyles – one for those who want to just dance, who want to listen to music, who want to watch volleyball, and those who want to control this society and its happy people," she said.
"Facebook and social media is showing a hidden face of Iran that is never seen in the media. It allows Iranian people who have never had a voice or a chance to speak to form their own media," she told the British newspaper.
Earlier this year, six young Iranians were arrested after a video they produced showed them dancing to the Pharrell Williams song "Happy." The three women in the video were wearing pants and no hijab in the video that went viral. Months later, the youths were sentenced to 91 lashes and up to a year in jail, but the sentence was suspended.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDEwMTk5OTQ0MDEzNDkxMDYyMDQ2MjdiMw004))
