A pop group has been banned after a woman sang a 12 second solo in Tehran

Under the strict Sharia law of Iran, women cannot sing solos to men

Negin Parsa's microphone was removed but the band continued to let her sing

They have been censored until further notice after the concert on January 30

A pop group has been banned by Iran's religious police after a female guitarist sang a 12 second solo at their concert in Tehran.

Negin Parsa was playing guitar in singer Hamid Askari's well known band on January 30 at the Milad Tower concert venue.

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But Iranian law - which is dictated by Islamic Sharia law - only permits that women sing in front of other women and can only sing in front of men as part of a duet or chorus.

During large concerts such as Askari's, performances are monitored by supervisors and Parsa's microphone was taken away shortly after her singing.

Negin Parsa

Negin Parsa

Iranian law - which is dictated by Islamic Sharia law - only permits that women sing in front of other women and can only sing in front of men as part of a duet or chorus. Negin Parsa is pictured singing at the concert at the Milad Tower in Tehran

But Askari decided to flout the regulations and brought his microphone over to share with Parsa in a show of defiance, France 24 reported.

Parsa shared a picture on Instagram of the pair of them sharing the microphone, saying: 'Many people talk a lot but when their business interests are compromised it turns out to be just slogans.'

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She thanked him for representing her and 'all the girls in your land.'

As a result of the law breaking, the Iranian authorities told them they would be censored until further notice while they review the case, the French news site reported.

The Office of Music of the Ministry of Guidance stated there had been a 'violation', according to local media.

Askari said he had been performing for more than 14 years and understood the government's red-line, having never once crossed it, Fararu reported.

Parsa (pictured playing the guiter) tweeted her thanks to Askari for backing her and not being afraid of the Iranian authorities

Negin Parsa (back right) plays the guitar while singing along with band-leader Hamid Askari (front left) - women may sing to men, as long as they are not performing a solo

Parsa has nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram and regularly posts on social media

Parsa is a 29-year-old composer and multi-talented musician who has collaborated with many of Iran's pop stars, specialising in rock music.

Last month there was reportedly a similar incident involving Ali Ghamsari, a popular folk musician, who also had a woman sing.

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Ghamsari was given warnings and the woman's microphone was cut during the singing.