Social norms, the unwritten rules about how to behave and what to wear in society, evolve and as more people follow them, they get hardened. But the good news is, time and again we often stood together to challenge the existing mindset to redefine equality. This time, the women across Iran have called in support of a teenage Instagram star who was arrested after posting her dancing videos without wearing the required headscarf and dress code. In the act of protest, many are taking videos of themselves dancing in public spaces, which is prohibited under the Iranian law and promptly #DancingIsNotACrime  is going viral on social media.

18-year-old gymnast, Maedeh Hojabri was detained by the Police as she posted a video of her dancing to Western pop music in her bedroom. The video which went viral in the recent weeks showed her without a headscarf which is essential to wear in the Islamic republic. Now, the social media users are sharing their videos with strong messages in support for Ms Hojabri using the hashtag #DancingIsNotACrime. It has further been reported that following Hojabri's incident, several other dancers in Iran were arrested.

Here are some videos in support of the teenage Instagrammer!

Dancing isn't a crime!

Iranian women dancing on the streets!

The protest is not just restricted to Iran.

Hojabri who had made more than 60,000 followers on Instagram appeared on a state Television last week confessed to breaking the moral norms. However, the activists are claiming the act to be a forced one. This is not the first incident when dancers in Iran have been jailed. In April this year, an official in the city of Mashhad was detained after footage surfaced which showed a crowd of men and women dancing at a mall. Again, last year, six people were arrested for Zumba dancing.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 10, 2018 11:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).