Five Iranian Gen-z Girls detained for dancing to Rema's Calm Down

Teenage Iranian girls who posted a video of themselves dancing to Divine Ikubor aka Rema's song "Calm Down" were reportedly detained and forced to apologize.

The five girls were first brought in and given a warning, then called again and detained for two days before being forced to make a coerced confession, according to a message from the Twitter account Shahrak Ekbatan.

Security forces reportedly began searching for the five girls last week as soon as the video, which was shot nearby Ekbatan, west of Tehran, became popular online, according to Fox News. Due to the fact that the video was posted on International Women's Day, they were not donning the headscarves that are compulsory for women in Iran.

 

Iranian Girls Detained For Dancing To Rema's 'Calm Down'

pic.twitter.com/lQhaq2a7jO

— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) March 16, 2023

 The dance video was shot last Wednesday 16th March, which was International 🚺 Women's day. Iranian- Canadian Journalist, Nahayat Tizhoosh said in most places it might just be an ordinary dance video, but in Iran it is a statement of deviance.

I wonder if @heisrema knows that his song #CalmDown is the backdrop of an incredibly courageous act of defiance by young Iranian women?

It started when 5 girls danced to his music in @shahrak_ekbatan- risking persecution by a regime that has murdered women for simply protesting. pic.twitter.com/V9zIbaF8og

— Nahayat Tizhoosh (@NahayatT) March 12, 2023

Rema in response took to his Twitter account to say: 

 

To all the beautiful women who are fighting for a better world, I’m inspired by you, I sing for you and I dream with you. ✊🏿🤍🇮🇷 https://t.co/sOCQjZnlpB

— REMA (@heisrema) March 14, 2023

 Many Iranian women took to streets to protest the development with some taking off their headscarves and throwing into fire.

“No to the headscarf … yes to freedom and equality!” protesters in Tehran chanted in a rally that was echoed by solidarity protests abroad.

Fox News said officials in Iran’s theocracy initially dismissed the reports, but later described them as intentional attacks involving some 30 schools, some however speculated that they could be aimed at trying to close schools for girls in this country of over 80 million people.