The Iranian judiciary announced on Sunday that judicial action would be taken against pop musician, Mehdi Yarrahi, whose most recent song called for women to remove their mandatory headscarves.
Mehdi Yarrahi dropped a new song on Friday called “Roosarito,” which translates to “Your Headscarf” in Farsi.
Last year’s protests against Iran’s mandatory headscarf policy erupted after Jina Mahsa Amini died in the hands of the country’s morality police, and this song expresses solidarity with those protesters.
According to the judiciary’s Mizan Online website, “a legal case was filed against Mehdi Yarrahi following the release of an illegal song which defies the morals and customs of the Islamic society.”
Lyrics from Yarrahi’s song urge ladies to “take off their (head)scarves” and claim the Iranian people want the practice to become voluntary.
The music video features ladies dancing with their hair down and features the protest phrase “Woman, life, freedom.”
Yarrahi was named best pop singer at Iran’s premier government-sponsored music festival, the Fajr festival, in 2018.
However, in recent years he has been critical of authorities.
Soroode Zan, often known as the “Woman’s Anthem,” was another one of his songs that gained traction in the protest movement, especially on college campuses. According to the court, this music is included in the new legal action.
Yarrahi is an Arab Iranian who has spoken out against what he sees as the marginalization of the Arab minority in his home region of Khuzestan.
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