Iran detains 5 over mixed-sex teen skateboard gathering
Iranian state media reported Friday that authorities have detained five people accused of organizing a skateboarding event where dozens of teenagers mixed freely and girls didn’t wear headscarves.
A video of the “Go Skateboarding Day” held off a boulevard in the southern city of Shiraz went viral on social media, prompting anger among conservative religious authorities in a country where the wearing of a Muslim hijab is mandatory for all women and teenage girls.
The state TV report said the provincial judiciary was looking into the event, while the state-run IRNA news agency reported that a rally to oppose Western-style gatherings of teenagers would be held after Friday prayers in Shiraz.
Iranian law bans women from appearing in public without covering their hair with a hijab – a strict dress code imposed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
