Niloufar Nourbakhsh in Conversation with Shaghayegh Bagheri, Samin Ghorbani, and Golnar Shahyar; published as part of Musik & Ästhetik journal’s forum. Read the article HERE

A feminist revolution sparked in Iran after the death of Mahsa Jina Amini on September 16, 2022. Iranian people marched across the streets of Iran and the world under the unified words of “woman, life, freedom”, demanding justice for the murder of Mahsa while she was in custody of “Morality Police” for improper hijab. Veiling became obligatory for all women in Iran above the age of nine, two years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Alongside this gender apartheid ruling, women were also prohibited from singing in public after the revolution. A verdict that banished many of Iran’s celebrated female singers to silence or exile . For the first time in our contemporary history, the focus and attention of the world has landed on compulsory hijab, but I believe it is equally important to speak about the compulsory veiling of women’s voices at this crucial historical time as well. Therefore, I set out to interview three distinguished Iranian female singers of our time to speak their truths: Shaghayegh Bagheri, Samin Ghorbani, and Golnar Shahyar.

https://www.musikundaesthetik.de/article/99.120205/mu-27-3-60