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A defiant participant from the June 12 demonstration
This article was written by our friend “K” for greeklish.org.
On June 12 at around 5:00 PM, more than one thousand people assembled
in Tehran to demonstrate in support of equal rights for Iranian women. The police had
assembled at the location prior to the event and they attempted to
prevent participants from displaying placards, shouting slogans and
distributing brochures. Police ultimately suppressed the demonstration
by using tear gas, electrical batons and other types of physical force.
It’s
been a little while now since I became acquainted with the music of
Zoya Sabet. I don’t really know how long it’s been, but I do
remember what I was doing when I first discovered her music...At the
time I was searching for an alternate version of Shostakovich’s music
from the film "Zoya" (Some versions of op. 64 include a vocal
arrangement in the "Adagio" portion of this particular work). As
I searched and searched, the name "Zoya Sabet" kept popping up in my
search results. With the help of Google, I did a little reading on
Ms.Sabet and I learned that she is a very accomplished performer of
classical Persian music and that she has performed abroad for a number
of years, accumulating a very respectable body of work. I enjoy
corresponding with a few Iranian friends from time to time, but we
mostly discuss Iranian politics and I know little about Iran with
respect to its art or culture. With my curiousity piqued, I
listened to a few tracks by Zoya Sabet that were readily available over
the Internet and despite the fact that I do not understand Persian, I
found the music and vocals to be absolutely amazing. I enjoy a
fair amount of Greek and Indian music and while classical Persian has
some similarities to these styles, it is very compelling and hypnotic
in its own right. For those of us who grew up listening Led
Zeppelin, it is very interesting to experience some of the music that
served as a profound influence over some of Zeppelin's more intricate
works.
Over the course of a few months, I accumulated a small sampling of
songs by Ms. Sabet and I listened to them over and over again for quite
a while. I checked with some of the larger Internet sellers
like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to try and order some full-length
CDs, but I found that neither of them carry works by Ms. Sabet.
So last week I ordered Zoya Sabet’s "Mehregan Concert: The Harvest
Festival" on CD from an Iranian/Persian music specialty store. I
received the CD in the mail last night and I have listened to it 4 or 5
times already. I had already heard a few tracks on the album, but
it is an altogether different experience to hear the entire
presentation. Most of the writing on the CD is in Persian (I
think) but there are a few notes in English on the back:
Mehregan: The Harvest Festival
A tribute to knowledge through festival of friendship and music
This
album features a harvest of songs featuring the most memorable and
well-known Iranian Poets and composers of the past fifty years.
This retrospective honors those creators through the voice of Zoya
Sabet.
Perhaps I can persuade some of my Iranian friends to share a little
insight on the lyrics of these songs and the stories behind them.
But even if the lyrical content remains a mystery to me, I will still
enjoy the music immensely.
Khatereh
Parvaneh, c. 1974
Although Ms. Sabet's work is a bit difficult to come by,
a CD entitled "Iran - Classical Persian Music" is widely available in
the US
(it’s even listed on Amazon.com). I purchased this CD a few
months ago and I have been quite happy with it. A few of the
tracks feature vocals by a very famous Iranian vocalist named Khatereh
Parvaneh. Shortly after I found this CD, I found an article by Najmeh
Fakhraie in which she describes a 2001 performance by Khatereh
Parvaneh. The story describes Ms. Parvaneh's descent into virtual
obscurity following the rise of Political Islam in Iran. The
story also recounts one of the only performances by Khatereh Parvaneh
in recent years, noting that the performance was in relative seclusion
and the the audience was composed of women only, which is a requirement
under the law:
I've
seen showers that only women can use, salons that only women can go to
and I've even heard of a hospital for females alone when those crazy
goats in parliament were talking of starting one. But this one I had
not even dreamed of: a concert performed and attended only by females.
It sounded too bizarre to be real. "Do they ask the guys standing
outside to cover their ears?" I ask a friend.
[...]
The
staff there, who are always males wearing light green, have given way
to females for this exclusive performance. There is not a man in sight.
I feel like I've stepped on another planet and I know I don't like the
change.
Once
inside the main hall, things are even more different. A concert I had
planned to attend looks more like a fashion show. "This is sick," I
tell myself a million times. And I wonder what has brought these people
all the way here today. The chance to show off their wardrobe and
pretty hair? Boredom? The love of music?
But
when the singer comes on stage looking older and more wrinkled up than
her pictures, when she opens those lips to let out that heavenly voice
that has been bottled up for two decades, and I see the tears rolling
down the face of the old lady sitting beside me with that awful
tank top, I know that none of those reasons would be complete.
Khatereh
Parvaneh sounds as beautiful as she did when she first stepped on stage
more than 30 years ago. Bringing to life Parvaneh's memory better than
anyone on earth. I am not an eyewitness, but I have all of my
grandfather's tapes and records that clearly tell me that. [full
article]
It is unfortunate that more recent examples of Khatereh Parvaneh’s work
are not readily available outside Iran, but the "Classical Persian
Music" CD is a stirring example of Khatereh Parvaneh in her
heyday. As recently as last year, Ms. Parvaneh was still
performing, although the work of female artists is still under the
heavy constraints of government regulation. But it would seem
that Khatereh Parvaneh is not one to go along quietly. Parvaneh
publicly criticized restrictions on performances by women in 2005:
TEHRAN,
Jan. 26 (2005)--Popular Iranian singer Khatereh Parvaneh has criticized
the time constraints for women singers in Fajr International Music
Festival.
The
festival is making progress each year, but, women singers have always
faced limitations in timing the concerts at the event, she said.
She
told ILNA that women perform at the festival, but, the time of the
performance is too short for the singer to communicate with the
audience and understand what they expect from the artists.
She
said that only one day has been allocated for three women's musical
groups in the festival and this is not sufficient for the program.
"Both the singers and the audience are dissatisfied with the time
constraints at the festival," she complained.
[...]
She
appealed to the organizers of the festival to review their policies
towards women singers and deal with them as they do with the male
vocalists. [full article]
"Iran - Classical Persian Music" includes notes in English which
provide selected translations of lyrics as well as commentary on the
theory and performance of classical Persian music. As noted
above, the album features work by Khatereh Parvaneh as well as other
noted Iranian musicians and this compilation is an excellent starting
point for those who are interested in classical Persian music.
Our
friend “K” has provided a firsthand report on International Women’s Day
in Iran, written especially for our site. His article is
presented below in its entirety, starting with his translation of a
hymn that was sung at the March 8 demonstration in Tehran.
Thou! woman the presence of life,
the time of slavery is finished.
The freedom of women is possible,
our effort is constructing it.
This voice is the voice of freedom,
This call is the outburst of consciousness.
Another world is possible,
This movement is engendering it.
At 5 P.M. on March 8, around 1000 people, mainly the young, gathered in a park in Valie Asr street in Tehran, singing the above hymn. There were people of all ages and sexes, but the
number of women and girls was high. A lot
of activists from workers' and university movements also participated in the demonstration. As
soon as they started singing, the security forces began speaking
through the loudspeaker saying, "Since this get-together is illegal, you
must leave the area."
Noticing that the people seemed to be indifferent as to what was said, one of the officers said, "You
will be given 5 minutes, after that you will be treated differently." At
the same time, one of the girls who was asking the public to be silent started
reading a declaration. Now the officers and civil forces, forgetting
what one of their officers had announced, behaved ridiculously and
started attacking the people.
They beat the people violently, no matter how old they were. Simin Behbahani, a
very famous Iranian poet aging above 70 was attacked while the others
tried to let their bodies be the barriers between the batons, kicks and
the lady. They tried to scatter the crowd, but some young girls sat there and let their bodies be run over by the soldiers and officers while singing the above hymn.
Others, instead of
leaving the area, just turned around. A lot of people being followed by
the guardians had to go through a current of water and left in wet pants and
shoes as a result. The crossroad was blocked for more than an hour. The
crowd was scattered at about 7, while the police did not let anybody
stand in that street or the streets nearby.
It may be interesting and perhaps incredible for many people living in different countries to know that in Iran that Internet sites have been widely filtered as to the word WOMEN and everything related to International Women's Day.
We
again extend our sincere gratitude to “K.” for his assistance in
helping us to understand and appreciate the difficult conditions in
Iran. Further Reading Iran: Police Attack Women's Day CelebrationReuters 09 Mar 2006 Simin BehbahaniBiography and poetry from the Iranian Chamber Society
More on the state of the Iranian labor movement from LabourStart.org:
Beginning
on Friday, 27 January, security forces in Iran began arresting hundreds
of striking bus workers in Teheran, including the leadership of the
union. Workers are also being intimidated into signing pledges to give
up strike and protest actions or risk being fired. The management of
the company and the company's Islamic Council worked hand in hand with
the security forces to help identify the workers and assist in the
arrests. Union officials said the brutality of the security forces was
indescribable. The wives and children of some union executive members
were also arrested, but later released. They were taken out of bed and
beaten up during raids on Friday night. The beatings continued in
detention. On Saturday, as the workers arrived at the picket lines,
they were rounded up. Many were verbally abused, threatened and beaten
up to force them to drive the buses. Those who refused were taken away.
The majority of the detainees are now in the high security Evin Prison,
which is notorious for the torture and execution of thousands of
political prisoners. (full article)
Our friend “K” provides further information regarding some recent developments in the bus drivers' strike:
This
morning of February 4 at 10 P.M., about one hundred persons gathered in
front of the so-called Islamic Court on Moallem Avenue in
Tehran after being told by the authorities that it was not possible for
them to see the judge. The group carried a placard on which it was
written: "Release The Bus Drivers!"
There were relatives of the detainees, university
students, and members of the committees trying to form workers'
organizations among the persons in the gathering.
The detainees' family members mentioned different
reasons for the relatively small number of the participants in the
gathering; namely, the fact that they have been intimidated, their
having lost touch due to their husbands being imprisoned, their
having to go to work and so on.
They were expecting the organizations, societies
and people from other layers of society worldwide to help
their relatives to be released. The gathering continued
until about midday.
Our
family trip to Toronto was truly an adventure — Getting around a big
city with 2 kids (one of whom requires a stroller) certainly had its
trying moments...But all in all, it was a great time!
The drive from the US border to Toronto was really long. The fact
that we had to make quite a few pit stops along the way probably made
the leg seem all that much longer. When we were just outside of
Toronto, Thomai glanced at my Mapquest directions and noticed that I
hadn’t run a complete map to our hotel. In fact, the map and
directions that I had generated basically took us from our own front
door to some random point in downtown Toronto with no further
directions or landmarks. Adding to our predicament
was the fact that both of us had neglected to print out the address or
phone number of our hotel. Once we figured out how to change our
cell phone to digital roaming (I can’t wait to see our cell phone bill),
we were able to get some help from my sister back in Ohio.
Eventually, we got in contact with our hotel and we got some decent
directions on how to get to our final destination. By that point,
we were rather horribly off course, so we got to see a fair amount of
downtown Toronto neighborhoods on the way to our hotel. We even
passed through a couple of spots twice.
While walking through Toronto's Chinatown one evening, Thomai and Kalliope
ducked into a souvenir shop while I waited outside with Zoya, who was
fast asleep. While we waited for them to come out, a woman walked
up to me and asked me for directions. I apologized and told her,
“I’m not from around here.” She looked surprised and said,
“You’re not?” It was a proud moment for me, as I had clearly been
mistaken as a Torontonian. Luckily, a real Torontonian was
passing by around the same time and he was able to give the lady proper
directions. As she walked away, she looked back at me and said
“Thanks.” I’m still not sure what she was thanking me for, but I
think I said “You’re welcome” just to be polite.
Toronto is far and away one of the most politically progressive and
ethnically diverse cities we have ever visited. On a typical
evening, we saw street performers performing along side of political
and religious lecturers. One particular evening, we passed a
booth featuring information on civil rights atrocities in Iran.
The booth’s operators were affiliated with Iran Civil Rights Committee. I stopped for a chat and we had a short and friendly talk about politics, quickly arriving at common ground.
