Six arrested in Iran for giving Zumba lessons

IRAN has arrested six people for teaching Zumba classes to children, accusing them of trying to “change lifestyles” in the Islamic republic.

The group of four men and two women were charged over their dancing and for not adhering to the country’s strict hijab dress code.

“The members of a network teaching and filming Western dances have been identified and arrested,” said Hamid Damghani, an official with the Revolutionary Guard. He said the Latin American fitness classes had been mixed and videos of their practices were published on social media.

“They were arrested by the guards’ intelligence forces while teaching and creating video clips... as they sought to change lifestyles and promote a lack of hijab,” Mr Damghani said.

They were charged with dancing and failing to wear proper hijab, Islamic regulations that require women to wear headscarves and ban revealing clothing in public. Dancing is banned in Iran for women in front of men outside their immediate families, but in recent years Zumba and other dances have also been banned in women-only gyms. In June the country’s sporting federation said the exercise included “rhythmic motions and dance and are unlawful in any shape and title”.