Afro-rave sensation Divine Ikubor aka Rema has reacted to the detention of five Iranian girls after they were caught dancing ‘unveiled’ to the remix of singer’s global hit song, ‘Calm down’ in public.
A group of teenage girls from Iran who posted a video of themselves dancing to Rema’s ‘Calm Down’ were reportedly detained and forced to apologise for their actions.
The girls were spotted dancing with bare midriffs without headscarves beneath highrise building in the Tehran residential district of Ekbatan.
They were first given a warning and detained for two days, during which they were allegedly coerced to ask for forgiveness.
As the video went viral, the girls were immediately targeted by the security forces seeing they didn’t wear headscarves, which are mandatory for women in Iran.
According to Iranian journalist activist, Masih Alinejad, “Women dancing threaten the Iranian Government. Recently police hunt these 5 young girls who launched viral Selena Gomez dance. They were forced to wear hijab and do false confessions against themselves. In the eyes of Islamic Republic all women across.”
According to Iranian-Canadian journalist, Maziar Bahari, the dance routine would be considered normal in most cities around the world but in Iran, it was seen as an act of defiance.
She said: “I wonder if @heisrema knows that his song #CalmDown is the backdrop of an incredibly courageous act of defiance by young Iranian women?”
Reacting the news, Rema retweeted the dance video which captured the five Iranian girls dancing to his song.
He said he’s been inspired by them as well as other Iranian women striving for a better world.
“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,” the Jonzing/Mavin signee tweeted.