Band Palet cancels its nationwide tour in protest at ban on its female musician performing

The seven-member band Palet announced on Tuesday evening, 13 October 2026, that it is cancelling its entire nationwide concert tour in Iran because the band's female musician was not allowed on stage in some cities. Palet had been due to perform city by city across Iran for the first time in several years.

In a message on Instagram, the band wrote that officials in some cities had said the band's female musician could not go on stage, and that for this reason "we announce the cancellation of Palet's entire tour." With the message, Palet published a photo of all seven members together on stage and said it would return to the stage when all members have an equal opportunity to perform. The band members also wrote that after years of protest by female and male musicians and singers, they had hoped to see female singers at work, but are now witnessing a return to a situation in which even female instrumentalists are not allowed to perform. In the published photo, the band's female musician is seen without the compulsory hijab.

Artists stand in solidarity with Palet

Hana Kamkar, an actress, singer and musician, backed Palet's decision on Instagram and declared her solidarity with the band's members. Meanwhile, Mohsen Sharifian, founder of the band Lian, said that the group's concert in Ahvaz had also been cancelled because female musicians were prevented from performing.

The Islamic Republic's repression of women musicians

Women have been banned from singing in Iran since 1979, and many female singers were forced to leave the country. This repression has intensified since the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement and the January uprising: the Islamic Republic's judiciary has arrested and convicted female singers and ordered the Instagram accounts of several of them blocked. An appeals court upheld a sentence of 74 lashes for Parastoo Ahmadi and eight members of the Caravanserai concert band for performing without the compulsory hijab, and Hiva Seifizadeh, a singer arrested in March 2025 while performing on a street in Tehran, has been sentenced to four years in prison.

The cancellation of Palet's tour comes days after Nasser Atabati, head of Tehran's judiciary, announced judicial action against unveiled women, and after Asghar Farhadi said he will make his next film outside Iran because of the compulsory hijab.

Palet chose to cancel its entire tour rather than go on stage without its female musician.