Key Points
- Five young women in Iran were detained and forced to apologise after posting a video dancing to the popular song, ‘Calm Down’.
- Their act of defiance has now gone global, with people recreating the set in solidarity on social media under #dance4iran.
- Singers Selena Gomez and Rema have reacted to their song’s rising popularity, applauding the courage of Iranian women.
A TikTok trend has become a new feature of following global outrage over the arrest of five Iranian girls for posting a dance video.
In the video, the young Iranian women are dancing to Selena Gomez and Rema’s latest hit ‘Calm Down’, jumping on a viral TikTok trend to mark International Women’s Day.
They’re dressed without hijabs, in crop tops, and baggy pants in a show of defiance against the Iranian regime,
Iranian law forbids women from dancing in public, and loose-fitting clothing.
The TikTok video soon went viral as a symbol of resistance, with several re-posting it to show their support.
Local news outlets reported that after posting the video, the girls were tracked down, arrested, and detained for two days.
They were then forced to record an apology video, in which they wore hijabs, expressing remorse for their actions.
The girls were forced to confess they had made a “mistake” and had to sign a statement at a police station saying they wouldn’t do it again, according to a by @shahrak_ekbatan, which monitors news in the Ekbatan — a town where the girls are based.
This is a common procedure used by Iranian police for misdemeanours and “moral” crimes for first-timers.
After the news of the arrest broke on social media, people around the world, including Iran, began posting videos of themselves re-creating the dance moves under hashtag #dance4iran.
Iran has heavily restricted independent media and arrested dozens of journalists and protesters since the outbreak of country-wide anti-government protests last September, following the death of Mahsa Amini Source: Getty, AFP / Ozan KOSE
"By dancing in public, showing their hair and the way they are dressed ... they're actively putting their lives at risk," wrote one TikTok user.
"Something other women (including myself) from other parts of the world can do without a second thought or fear of retribution. Please keep Iran in your thoughts."
"Be the voice of the Iranian people so dancing no longer has to be a political act of defiance," wrote another.
‘Calm Down’ singers Selena Gomez and Rema also voiced their support on social media, praising the courage of Iranian women.
“Love to these young women and all the women of Iran who continue to be courageous demanding fundamental changes,” wrote Gomez on her Instagram.
“Please know your strength is inspiring.”
Demonstrations have swept the country since , who died while in the custody of the country’s morality police.
