A Voice from the Heart of History; Parastoo Ahmadi's Concert Without Hijab in the Heart of Iran

The performance of "Caravanserai Concert" in one of Iran's caravanserais featuring artist Parastoo Ahmadi on Wednesday, December 21, without mandatory hijab and its live broadcast on YouTube, became one of the most viewed events reflected in Iran's social media. Parastoo Ahmadi explained her performance in the YouTube channel broadcasting this work: "I, Parastoo, a girl who wants to sing for the people I love. This is a right I could not ignore; singing for the land I love dearly." The Iranian artist and singer further added: "Here, at this point in our dear Iran, in this piece where our history and myths intertwine, hear my voice in this hypothetical concert and imagine this beautiful homeland." In the "Caravanserai Concert," Ms. Ahmadi performed the piece "Kiss Me" accompanied by Ehsan Birghdar, Soheil Faghih Nasiri, Amin Taheri, and Amir Ali Pirnia. Parastoo Ahmadi had also performed the piece "From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland" during the nationwide protests of 2022, which led to widespread public support for her action. In October 2023, she was summoned by security agencies and a case was opened against her. Shervin Hajipour, Emad Ghavidel, Mahmoud Mirzaei, Saman Yasin (Seydi), and Tomaj Salehi were among the artists in the music and singing field who turned to protest performances alongside the people during the 2022 protests, all of whom were arrested and faced various sentences. The use of music, poetry, and song is one form of protest art. Protest art or dissenting art is a creative work produced by activists and social movements that protests against a school, style, or thought that it does not recognize or consider legitimate. The international response to the freedom of Tomaj Salehi after his second imprisonment, Ra'na Soleimani and Arash Sobhani discuss the role of artists like Tomaj Salehi in reflecting the voices of Iranians. Civil activists warn about the "inhumane conditions" of female prisoners: the situation of non-political prisoners is worse. A night of solidarity with "Woman, Life, Freedom" in Germany; Niloufar Bayazidi spoke about "human life." Hossein Ronaghi after having his lip stitches removed: Silence is not my job. Tomaj Salehi, the protest singer, was released from prison. The release of the video of the last moments of Kianoush Sanjari and the third statement of his "friends."