Six young Iranian adults, three men and three women, were arrested on Sunday in Tehran and endured abuse and personal humiliation during their time locked up. They were released earlier today. Their crime? Uploading a video of themselves dancing to Pharrell Williams’ international hit “Happy” onto YouTube. The women were dancing without hijabs, the mandatory head covering for women in Iran, and in mixed company. The video went viral, with about 200,000 views so far, and the group of young happy dancers were promptly located and arrested.
Artist and photographer Rayhaneh Taravati was among the happy young adults arrested and spoke to a source about the humiliating treatment she was dealt during her arrest. That source spoke to The Daily Beast, one of the few American sources to report on this story, and said the following:
“They took Rayhaneh and her friends to the Vozara police station, where they were not permitted to use toilet facilities, and were transferred to solitary confinement on the second day. Police interrogated the group extensively about their video clip and comments to foreign media, including this publication. During their detention the young women were forced to strip naked and perform squats in front of female police officers.”
The Daily Beast also reported that all of Taravati’s artwork and photographs were destroyed when the Tehran police raided her home in retaliation for the YouTube video. The six young adults who were in the video made an appearance on state television on May 20 alongside the police force that brutally denigrated them including Tehran police chief Hossein Sajedinia, as the group “confessed” that they were forced to partake in the video by an unknown man and woman. Viewers say that the group looked very afraid and it was obvious that they were forced to partake in the confession. On top of that, the families of those arrested were threatened by Tehran authorities prior to their release, aggressively stating that their children would not be freed if they spoke to any media sources.
Pharrell put his two cents in on the event, posting on his Facebook that “It is beyond sad that these kids were arrested for trying to spread happiness,” alongside a photo of the group. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also commented on the arrest via Twitter, saying that, “#Happiness is our people’s right. We shouldn’t be too hard on behavior caused by joy.” The comment is seen as an official government response, demonstrating the large disconnect between the Iranian government and the police force.
The last paragraph of The Daily Beast article describes one of the “Happy” video producer’s desire to continue working on art in Iran.
“We want to keep on working inside Iran. Anyone can be creative and work outside Iran, but our aim is to convey the voice of Iranian young people to the world. We just want a chance to raise our voice, and say that Iran is a better place [than some people think], that despite all of the pressures they face, Iranian young people are happy and are striving to improve their lot in the world, with the highest of spirits. They know how to be happy, just like everyone else in the world.”
This story out of Iran is both heart-breaking and anger inducing. While the Iranian government is known to have harsh policies in place for any citizen who dares to go against the norm, these six young individuals are guilty of nothing more than self-expression through creative means and having fun. The fact that they were thrown in jail for this smile-inducing video is unjust and even the Iranian president seems to agree. It is extremely saddening that in 2014, young people still have to fear the consequences of their government for individualism. Watch the video and decide for yourself. Use the hashtag #FreeHappyIranians to share your opinion below.
– Marisa Frydman (@musicalmarisa)