TEHRAN: Iranian police arrested several teenage girls for not wearing headscarves at a skateboarding event in the southern city of Shiraz on Friday, along with some of the event’s organisers.

A number of girls “removed their hijab at the end of the sports event without observing the religious considerations and legal norms”, state news agency IRNA quoted Shiraz police chief Faraj Shojaee as saying. “With the coordination of the judiciary, a number of perpetrators and people related to this gathering were identified and arrested on Thursday,” he said.

A video purporting to show Tuesday’s “Go Skateboarding Day” event went viral in Iran on social media.

“Holding any mixed sports or non-sports gathering without observing the religious and legal norms is prohibited... and the organisers will be dealt with according to the law,” Shojaee added.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2022