The crime of dancing may bring punishment for some recent college graduates who insist "there's nothing illegal in celebrating".
A group of Iranian graduates are facing prosecution after a viral video of the women dancing at their graduation made its way across social media platforms this week.
The footage shows 11 female students from Al-Zahra University in Bushehr, Iran, dancing and riding a motorcycle in celebration.
This video of Iranian students celebrating their graduation with music and dance from Al-Zahra University in the southern port city of Bushehr has gone viral in Iran.
— Holly Dagres (@hdagres) April 8, 2024
Now the university president is threatening that they may face prosecution. https://t.co/uFAC9NVdqw pic.twitter.com/F4X5Eyxwzp
The university's president, Zahra Hajiani, told the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) that the video had been made "without coordination and obtaining permission from the university" and was an "illegal activity," according to The Guardian.
Hajiani said the university would pursue legal action against the students.
"This matter is under investigation by the university's security. The student who produced this video has been identified and is supposed to be accountable for this action along with his father tomorrow."
Human rights lawyers suggested that the university likely issued the legal threat due to pressure from Iranian authorities.
"There's no specific law banning them from dancing or riding motorcycles. This is an attempt to break the strong student movement in Iran, which showed during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests that it's stronger than ever," said the Canada-based Iranian human rights lawyer Hossein Raeesi.
Raeesi added, "The kids are simply celebrating their achievements, and any legal threat is absurd," and highlighted that the "vagueness" of the laws is used by authorities to prosecute individuals for "indecency."
Over the past decade, human rights groups have reported several cases of women being detained for dancing in public.
Two women were arrested earlier in March for dancing in Tehran's Tajrish Square while dressed as fictional Iranian folklore characters.
The arrests were described as "committing acts of norm-breaking" by state media.
"This video shows that all the suspensions and bans have done nothing to discourage us from celebrating our achievements with music and dance. We continue to defy their rules. University presidents are just mouthpieces of the Islamic Republic. There's nothing illegal in celebrating, nor is protesting illegal"an Iran-based student expressed to The Guardian.
Following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died in a Tehran hospital in September 2022 after being detained by police for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code, protests erupted worldwide. The demonstrations were primarily led by young women, including schoolgirls and university students.
