[OBSERVERS.FRANCE24] Iranian officials detained three young female dancers who had thousands of followers on Instagram. According to our Observers in Iran, this is part of a wider crackdown-- in the past year, Iranian authorities have prosecuted many other dancers, but because they were lesser-known, their stories didn’t reach the media.
Sahra Afsharian, Sara Shariatmadari and Niloufar Motiei are known for shuffle dancing, which is a club dance characterized by repeatedly shuffling your feet inwards, then outwards. Each of them has tens of thousands of followers on social media, as well as many students. On October 8, state media YJC reported that these three dancers had been arrested and detained in the notorious Qarchak Prison, located about 40 kilometres southeast of the capital, Tehran. State media also reported that that many other dancers had also been arrested and were being prosecuted for "obscene content creation".
| Video of Sahra Afsharian can be seen here. One can understand why the Mullahs are upset — so many bleached blond hair waves waving in all directions! |
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