Blocking of Zara Esmaeili's Instagram Page by the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic

A few days after the news of Zara Esmaeili's arrest, a young female artist who sings in public spaces in Tehran and Karaj without wearing a hijab, the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic blocked her Instagram page. On Thursday, August 9, the logo of the Judiciary appeared on Zara Esmaeili's Instagram account with the message 'Blocked.' The message stated that the page was blocked 'by order of a judicial authority.' The blocked page featured videos of Zara Esmaeili singing without a mandatory hijab, which had attracted the attention of audiences and was shared multiple times on social media. This 29-year-old artist from Karaj has performed extensively in Ekbatan Town, Bagh Ferdows in Tehran, and the metro. Her powerful voice and performances of songs by Haydeh and Amy Winehouse were well-received by the public. Previously, the news website HRANA, an organization of human rights activists in Iran, reported that she was arrested at her home by security forces on July 27, and her family has no information about the reasons for her arrest, the charges, or even her whereabouts. Furthermore, after the 1979 revolution, the Islamic Republic authorities have prevented women from singing in Iran as part of government policies. In one of the latest actions, government officials reacted even to the singing of a non-Iranian woman. The venue for the concert of Masuma Mammadova Damla, a female singer from Azerbaijan, which was held in Tabriz and Ardabil, was sealed off by the Ardabil prosecutor's order on July 2, accused of 'illegal and norm-breaking ceremonies.'