Rema Sends Solidarity Message to the Five Iranian Women Arrested for Dancing to His Music

Nigerian Afropop star Rema sent a message of solidarity to five young Iranian women who were reportedly arrested for releasing a video dancing to his music.

On International Women’s Day, the women created a buzz online after releasing a video showing them dancing to the global hit "Calm Down." In the video, the women wore no headscarves while slightly exposing their midriffs.

According to reports, the Iranian government soon caught wind of the video and began looking for the girls. On March 9th, the Shahrak Ekbatan Twitter account—an account belonging to Ekbatan area activists—first alerted the general public by posting the dancing video online and stating that authorities had been asking residents in the area if they knew the women.

"They looked for CCTV footage of Block 13 to identify the girls who were only dancing and were not involved in any political activity. Police were seen checking the footage and questioning the guards," the account said.

Earlier this week, the Ekbatan-based activists reported that the women had been detained and forced to make an apology video, dressed in regalia that covered them from head to toe. The news soon caught the attention of Rema, who tweeted a solidarity message supporting the women earlier this week.