31-year-old married women Ermia, wins £16,500 on Iranian talent show Googoosh Music Academy - Iran\'s version of the X Factor - has sparked controversy because of it\'s winner. The competition has gripped Iran, with nearly 700,000 liking its Facebook page , and flooding internet forums to discuss the show.
But this year, the winner of the £16,500 prize is Ermia, a 31-year-old who has defied religious restrictions to sing in public as a married woman.
She covers her entire body while performing, but his has failed to appease the anger of those who accuse her of tarnishing Islam\'s image, British newspaper The Guardian reported.
This has shocked the conservative nation, with some speculating whether voting was rigged.
Her hijab has prompted wide discussions about Islam, and the question of how to balance Islam with modern life.
Secular Iranians suggest that because she does cover herself, she must have ties with the Islamic republic.
Conservative Iranians are angry and accuse her of tarnishing Islam\'s image.
The programme is actually filmed in London by an exiled television channel and transmitted to the huge audience eager to watch budding performers.
Bad hijabi - known as improper veiling - was considered a cultural crime.
This is defined by law as an “uncovered head, showing make-up, uncovered arms and legs, thin and see-through clothes, tight clothes such as trousers without an overall over them, clothes bearing foreign words, signs or pictures, nail varnish, brightly colored clothing and improper modes of body movement or talking.”
The punishment of bad hijabi was 74 lashes in the 1983 Penal Law.
But in 1996, the Penal Law was reformed and the punishment of bad hijabi was reduced to prison (from ten days to four months) and / or a fine (from 50,000 to 500,000 Rials)
It is broadcast by Manoto1, a free-to-air Persian-language channel launched in October 2010 owned by Marjan TV corporation.
The channel began broadcasting in 2009 by Kayvan and Marjan Abbassi, a couple exiled in the UK, and it has quickly grown in popularity.
But the Iranian state has jammed the signals and accuse its makers of links to “the Zionist regime”, a reference to Israel - The Guardian reported.
Hopefuls record videos and are then selected to compete, with viewers voting for their winner.
Based in London, it airs documentaries, films, series, news and reports.
Viewers are forced to install illegal satellite dishes on their homes because opposition channels are blocked in Iran.
But many are taking the risk so they can watch the programmes, which are not produced by state channels.
The programme\'s title comes from Iranian singer and actress Faegheh Atashin, who\'s stage name is Googoosh, and she is one of three judges.