An appeals court in Iran has confirmed a sentence of 74 lashes for singer Parastoo Ahmadi after she performed without the mandatory hijab.

Ahmadi, 29, appeared in a livestreamed concert on her YouTube channel in December 2024, wearing a sleeveless dress that violated the country’s dress code for women.

The judiciary began proceedings following the video’s viral spread, claiming it breached Iran’s legal and cultural regulations. A criminal court in Qom later ruled that Ahmadi and eight associates had committed offences including "offending public decency" and producing "obscene and indecent material".

They received 74 lashes and were barred from audiovisual work and from leaving Iran for two years. The higher court rejected the appeal without a hearing, according to the defendants’ lawyers.

"Holding the concert was not a crime," one lawyer told the BBC, citing the harshness of the punishment and noting that fines were an alternative. Others have criticised the ruling as a deterrent against similar performances.

The decision sparked widespread reaction online. Exiled singer Googoosh urged an end to the dark days and called for freedom of dress and artistic expression, while musician Hossein Alizadeh offered to take 70 lashes in place of Ahmadi.

Human rights bodies condemned the flogging, with Amnesty International warning that such punishment is cruel, inhuman, and degrading, violating the absolute ban on torture.

In January 2024 Kurdish-Iranian activist Roya Heshmati was similarly flogged 74 times after a photo on social media showed her without the hijab.

Under Iranian law—rooted in its interpretation of Sharia—women above puberty must cover their hair with a hijab and wear loose clothing to conceal their figures.

The measures follow a nationwide protest movement that erupted in 2022 after Mahsa Amini was detained by morality police, leading to mass demonstrations and a brutal crackdown.

In the months since, many women have openly defied the dress code, prompting periodic arrests and bans by authorities. Conservative political figures have argued that Iran’s geopolitical tensions limit their ability to enforce such norms, while the state has continued its selective enforcement amid internal unrest.

For the full livestream, visit YouTube and read the associated legal documents.