Ban on Women's Music Performances in Nearly 12 Provinces of Iran

Hamidreza Nourbakhsh, the CEO of the House of Music of Iran, has reported a ban on the presence of female singers and musicians in "nearly 12 provinces" of Iran, stating: "How can women be allowed to study music in a country, but not allowed to perform it?" According to the website "Music Ma," these remarks were made during a meeting of music stakeholders who gathered to discuss the cancellation of concerts and the restrictions faced by musicians. On Tuesday, March 18, the CEO of the House of Music of Iran also described the cancellation of Alireza Ghorbani's concert in Golbahar and the prevention of Harir Shariatzadeh from performing on stage as an insult to Iranian musicians. He said: "Can artists be insulted and told that music in any form is mere entertainment? Do you think the music community will tolerate such insults?" Nourbakhsh's comments were a reaction to the speech of the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad on March 8, who stated in his sermon: "Music concerts are mere entertainment, and since the entire city of Mashhad is the shrine of Imam Reza, holding concerts there is entertainment in the shrine of that holy figure." The Friday prayer leader of Urmia also announced on March 16 that promoting music, even halal music, is not compatible with the "noble goals" of the Islamic Republic and that it is better for young people to spend their time learning necessary sciences and skills. In recent weeks, the cancellation of several music concerts in various cities of Iran has caused dissatisfaction among the public and musicians. According to Music Ma, last week, the concert of Abdolhossein Mokhtabad, the head of the artistic committee of Tehran City Council, which refused to perform without female musicians, was also canceled. In recent weeks, two concerts of Alireza Ghorbani, one at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran ordered by university officials and the other at Azad University in Golbahar near Mashhad, were canceled by the city's prosecutor's order. Following these actions, the Iranian Minister of Culture on Tuesday, March 12, criticized the judicial authorities for preventing concerts and asked governors to defend and support the music permits from his ministry. Ali Jannati stated: "It makes no sense for a judicial authority or another group to prevent traditional music or performances that have permits. Or to prevent a concert that has a permit and is conducted in a gender-segregated manner at a university." "Today's problems are the result of calculated political actions." In the meeting of music stakeholders, Abdolhossein Mokhtabad described music in Iran as a "field of political competition" and said: "At one time, the government was also against music, but now the government is on our side." The head of the artistic committee of Tehran City Council added: "The problems we see these days are the result of calculated political actions. We request that they focus on their own work and let us do ours. I hope your supporters are ten million and ours are a thousand, and we do not envy. We tell politicians to leave us alone in this unprotected suffering."