The Iranian education ministry’s removal of illustrations of girls from the cover of a math textbook, sparked a wide controversy and uproar among social media users In Iran, with many dubbing it as flat gender discrimination. In reaction to the criticism, minister Mohsen Haji Mirzayi, apologized, saying it was an unwanted act to remove the image of girls, and will correct it. For her part, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Masoumah Ibtikar, said that people’s concerns were legitimate, girls cannot be ignored, stressing that there was no intent to discriminate against women. On the other hand, An Nahar daily featured a musical event by a four-women band, Dingo, in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, remarking that the scene applauded by the audience is still uncommon in Iran. It cited the former director of the Music Department at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Sahar Taati, as telling AFP that no law in Iran forbids public singing by women, however, most clerics believe that female singing is “haram”. Women can sing to mixed audiences if two or more women sing together, or a female solo singer was accompanied by a male singer, Taati explained. (An Nahar, September 17, 18, 2020)