Female Bodybuilder Jailed for posting Un-Islamic selfies

An Iranian bodybuilder has been arrested after publishing selfie of her muscles on social media which were deemed to be 'nude'.

The woman, who is accused of breaking the Islamic Republic's strict rules on nudity, has been locked up in prison because she was unable to post bail of two million rials (£50), according to the Mizanonline news agency.

She has not been identified but it is thought she may be Shirin Nobahari, one of two women who took part in an international competition and were reported in September to have been warned about selfies which they posted afterwards.  Ms Nobahari's Instagram account, which users the moniker Shirin Muscleking, contains a number of photographs and videos of her showing off her biceps and lifting weights. 

The Iranian judiciary's own news agency said today: 'One of the female bodybuilders who recently published nude photographs on social networks has been arrested.' In Iran 'nude' can refer to any woman who is not wearing a headscarf or revealing parts of her body such as arms and legs, that must be covered in public.  Iranian women are allowed to take part in international sporting events, but must respect strict Islamic rules on clothing at all times.

Female swimmers have to wear full bodysuits and headscarves and women footballers and athletes have to wear tracksuits and long sleeves. There have also been incidents where female sports fans were arrested for watching male sports events. In 2014 a British woman, Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, was arrested and taken to Tehran's notorious Evin jail after attempting to watch a men's volleyball match between Iran and Italy. 

Iranian women are routinely banned from watching football matches, including the national team's games. Shirin posts numerous pictures on her Instagram account of her showing off her biceps. Her clothing, including bear arms, would be deemed 'unIslamic' in Iran

Article courtesy of DailyMail