ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran’s Police for the Sphere of the Production and Exchange of Information (FATA) – better known as Iranian Cyber Police – are monitoring and shutting down Instagram accounts that publish videos of dance lessons.
On Saturday, the Iranian government channel First TV published the confessions of Instagram models, who admitted to “promoting moral deviation”.
“When the pages of social media celebrities are identifies by FATA – Iranian Cyber Police – the admins of these pages will be referred to the judicial authorities in each provinces they live ... 30 percent of social media celebrities have been in Tehran city,” Toraj Kazemi, the head of FATA, told ILNA news agency.
In the released confessions, four young girls talked about publishing dance videos on Instagram. One of them is Elnaz Qasemi, who had more than 600,000 Instagram followers.
Since 2017, FATA has arrested many women charged with publishing un-Islamic photos and videos on social media.
The Iranian government has put several restrictions on the public role of women based on Islamic Sharia laws. Since the 1979 Iranian revolution, for example, women have been forced to wear the headscarf.
In February, several women removed their headscarves and waved them like flags while standing on public platforms. Police arrested several of them for “violating public order”.
Iranian women have been demanding the right to watch sporting events at Iran’s stadiums. In April, some women even dressed up as men to enter Tehran’s Azadi Stadium and watch a football match.
In June during the FIFA World Cup 2018, women were for the first time allowed to watch Iran’s matches on big screens at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran.
More recently, women have posted videos of themselves dancing in public places.
Since it is difficult for women to play an active part in public life, communicating on social media platforms like Telegram and Instagram has become extremely popular.
On Saturday, the Iranian government channel First TV published the confessions of Instagram models, who admitted to “promoting moral deviation”.
“When the pages of social media celebrities are identifies by FATA – Iranian Cyber Police – the admins of these pages will be referred to the judicial authorities in each provinces they live ... 30 percent of social media celebrities have been in Tehran city,” Toraj Kazemi, the head of FATA, told ILNA news agency.
In the released confessions, four young girls talked about publishing dance videos on Instagram. One of them is Elnaz Qasemi, who had more than 600,000 Instagram followers.
Since 2017, FATA has arrested many women charged with publishing un-Islamic photos and videos on social media.
The Iranian government has put several restrictions on the public role of women based on Islamic Sharia laws. Since the 1979 Iranian revolution, for example, women have been forced to wear the headscarf.
In February, several women removed their headscarves and waved them like flags while standing on public platforms. Police arrested several of them for “violating public order”.
Iranian women have been demanding the right to watch sporting events at Iran’s stadiums. In April, some women even dressed up as men to enter Tehran’s Azadi Stadium and watch a football match.
In June during the FIFA World Cup 2018, women were for the first time allowed to watch Iran’s matches on big screens at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran.
More recently, women have posted videos of themselves dancing in public places.
Since it is difficult for women to play an active part in public life, communicating on social media platforms like Telegram and Instagram has become extremely popular.
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