A historic concert by the forbidden voice of an Iranian woman took place inside Iran, a country where women are jailed simply for singing. Thousands of Iranians watched it live on YouTube, celebrating the bravery of this extraordinary woman.

Parastoo Ahmadi, who was once arrested during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising and forced to erase the song “From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland” from her page, defied the regime once again. This time, she stood without a hijab in a centuries-old caravanserai, singing her heart out and streaming the concert live on YouTube.

She wrote:
“I am Parastoo, a girl who cannot stay silent and refuses to stop singing for the people she loves. This is my right, one I will never surrender. I sing for this land I adore, for the soil of my homeland. Here, in this sacred corner of our beloved Iran, listen to my voice in this imagined concert, and dream of a free and beautiful nation.”

Her voice is a weapon against tyranny, her courage a song of defiance. Parastoo is everything the regime fears, a woman who cannot be silenced.

Zara Esmaeili, another brave young woman who dared to sing in public, is now behind bars. We hope for her freedom and for Iran to be liberated from the tyranny of the Islamic Republic, a regime that, for over 40 years, has banned women from singing and letting their hair flow freely.

I call on all international singers to stand in solidarity with Parastoo, Zara, and the courageous women of Iran who are defying oppressive, discriminatory laws. These brave female singers are risking their freedom and their lives to challenge a regime that has silenced women’s voices for over four decades. Let their courage inspire action, your support can amplify their fight for justice and freedom.

Iranian women are wounded but unbowed to their oppressors.
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