Gen Z rappers challenge regulations of Iranian regime

In a Tehran park, Arshia and his friends were in the middle of rapping and dancing when police cars rolled in. Along with 13 other teenagers, boys and girls together, they scattered before the officers could approach. We were just in a park performing when the police showed up. We ran as soon as they stopped, said 19-year-old Arshia, recalling the moment with a laugh.

He added a revealing insight about the tension between the state and young Iranians: We actually expect the police to come for us. It adds to the thrill. Escaping them is part of the fun. Last year, police did catch him, notifying his father and forcing him home, but he returned to the park the following weekend. Across the country, Generation Z is increasingly resisting rules imposed by the Islamic Republic over the past 46 years.

Equipped with smartphones and access to global culture, young Iranians are rejecting regulations that dictated their parents lives, including mandatory hijabs, limits on dancing, dating, and music. Unlike previous generations shaped by war and strict political control, Gen Z has grown up exposed to international trendsfrom fashion in Seoul to music streaming worldwide.

This generational shift is evident in public and private spaces alike: teens dance to rap songs criticizing executions in parks, unmarried couples cohabit, and women post videos without hijabs on Instagram. Streets see girls defying the morality police by removing headscarves, reflecting a broader refusal to follow rules from 1979. A Tehran high school teacher observed, These young people are remarkably different and often reject regulations they consider unjust. Unlike our generation, they openly ignore them.

Defiance comes with risks. Iranian authorities continue to arrest young people, especially protest rappers. Abbas Daghagheleh, known as Rashash, a 22-year-old Iranian Arab rapper, continued creating music despite knowing the dangers. By day, he worked in construction; by night, he rapped about discrimination, poverty in Khuzestan, and disappeared activists. Security forces raided his home on October 10, confiscating his phone and recording equipment shortly after he posted about executed Arab political prisoners.

Rashash is one of several Gen Z rappers recently detained. State media has aired forced confessions from artists, including Danial Farrokhi (Meshki), Ardalan, and Sajjad Shahi, accused of sharing controversial content online. Farrokhi, who criticized Irans military actions, appeared unmasked, apologizing publicly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Other artists were filmed half-naked with shaved heads, confessing under duresssparking outrage among activists and musicians. Toomaj Salehi, previously on death row for supporting protests, condemned the videos as coercive and humiliating.

For nearly five decades, Iran has restricted most forms of dance, particularly for women, under the claim it incites lust. These policies have stifled cultural expression and even limited childrens freedom to dance. Their rules make me angry. Why cant I live independently or with my partner? said 18-year-old Nazanin. We are suppressed at home and by the government. Most of my generation doesnt carewe follow what makes us happy, which is why the authorities oppose us.

Her perspective reflects a broader trend: some families now tolerate living arrangements once considered unacceptable. They arrest us to try to change how we think, Arshia noted. But my generation has nothing to lose.

Author: Noah Whitman