Iran Extends Ban on Women Soloists
Solo women singers will remain barred from Iran’s airwaves despite rumors of a change in policy, the country’s broadcasting chief was quoted on Saturday as saying.
Mohammed Hashemi said radio and television would go on playing music by female choirs, but women singing alone does not conform to the broadcasting organization’s Islamic code, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
“In a country with more than 50 million people, naturally there are different tastes and the organization certainly cannot hope to satisfy all of them,” he said.
IRNA, monitored in Cyprus, said Hashemi was speaking at the inauguration of a radio transmission center in the central province of Yazd.
He had some consolation for any disgruntled listeners. He promised that radio and television programs marking the 10th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic revolution on Feb. 11 will be better than ever.
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