Every week for the last four months, there has been news of a concert being canceled after receiving the necessary license from the Ministry of Culture and even having sold tickets. There was a range of explanations offered as to why the concerts were canceled; sometimes the reason was that the concert coincided with a national mourning period or that the concert was being performed in a religious city. The anti-music groups, whether within the police force or other irregular forces, seem to always have more pull, and the ministry is powerless to do anything other than offering its regrets.

Even when the hard-liners are not successful in canceling a concert, they show up at the concert venue and attack spectators. This is what happened recently in the city of Yazd when a group of spectators were watching a traditional music concert. The question that no one can answer is that even if the hard-liners have a problem with Western and pop music, why do they attack traditional music concerts?

Recently, it appears that an unwritten law has gone into effect in several cities in Iran, based on which a music ensemble, whether performing traditional music or pop music, should not include women.