Little Mix don't seem like the most obvious catalyst for Iranian protest, but then again, something tells us that the woman who uploaded a video of herself dancing in Tehran as a way of protest might have danced to anything to make her point known.
In case that makes absolutely no sense, let us rewind to a few Iranian laws that make absolutely no sense. In Iran, it’s illegal for people to dance in public and play Western music in public. It’s also illegal for women to appear in public without a veil covering their hair. Why? A new code of morality was introduced following the revolution in 1979. Think of all the music they just wouldn’t have been allowed to dance to since then!
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You’ll remember earlier this year, a few people dancing around Tehran to Pharrell Williams’ Happy in a video were arrested after the footage of them – all in Western garb, some of the women not in veils – went viral. They were held and then released on suspended sentences.
READ MORE: Iranian Police Have arrested A Group Of Young People For Dancing To Pharrell’s Happy
It’s not known how Iranian authorities will react to this latest infringement of their laws, but here’s what goes down in it. In the one-minute video, an unidentified woman dances, full on bodypopping to Salute by Little Mix, while on a women-only carriage on the Tehran Metro.
For those of the women who understand English, they might have been pretty interested in the lyrics of the song, which goes a bit like this:
‘Sisters we are everywhere. Warriors, your country needs you. If you ready ladies, better keep steady.
‘Ready, aim, shoot it. Don't need ammunition, on a mission. And we'll hit you with the truth;. Divas, Queens, we don’t need no man, salute! You think we’re just pretty things. You couldn’t be more wrong (We standing strong, we carry on).’
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‘Knock us but we keep moving on (we’re moving up, yeah). Can’t stop a hurricane. Ladies it’s time to awake (yeah!)’
The video was uploaded to
, a Facebook page where Iranian women keen to subvert the rule of law that oppresses them upload images of themselves without their headscarves. It’s not known whether the uploader is the dancer, or someone else.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.