A weeping teenage girl recently sat in front of Iran’s state TV and made a so-called confession. Her crime? She danced to pop music in her bedroom and posted the recordings on her Instagram account. This young girl, 18-year-old Maedeh Hojabri, was arrested by Iran’s security agents, hauled in front of the state broadcaster, and forced to make state-dictated statements of remorse. My name is Nazanin Boniadi and I’m an Iranian-born actress. My parents were political refugees who fled to London in the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. They didn’t want to raise their daughter in a social, political and legal climate that was growing increasingly aggressive toward women and girls. I often wonder how different my life would have been if I’d grown up without the freedom to dance, sing and perform as a little girl. Thousands of Iranians inside the Islamic Republic and all over the world have registered their disgust at the humiliation of this girl by posting videos of themselves dancing and singing in solidarity with Maedeh. This is only the latest in a series of acts of civil disobedience against Iran’s decades-long gender apartheid and legalized misogyny. Brave Iranian women have disguised themselves as men to enter sports stadiums and they’ve publicly removed their government-mandated headscarves in peaceful protest. For many women, the hijab has become a constant reminder of their inequality in Iran, where women are forbidden from becoming judges, let alone president. And a woman’s court testimony and inheritance is half that of a man’s, and a married woman needs her husband’s approval to work or travel. Now we see a young girl, head uncovered, joyfully dancing at home, forced to parade herself in front of the nation as a criminal. This cultural tyranny must end. It’s not only peaceful dissent that can land one in prison in Iran. People are told what books they can read, what movies they can watch, and what music they can enjoy. Maedeh’s arrest shows that Iran denies even the most personal and nonpolitical acts of expression, a basic and universal human right. Humiliating a young girl for her joyful acts of youth is a disgrace. The authorities tried to shame a young girl, but instead they have only shamed themselves. It’s a moral imperative that every world leader stands with the Iranian people and doesn’t ignore their cries when shaking hands with President Rouhani or Foreign Minister Zarif or any representatives of the Islamic Republic. It’s time to put people before politics. Human dignity is not negotiable.