In story and song, artists keep world's eyes on Mahsa Amini and the plight of Iran's women

One year after the death ofMahsa Amini, artists in Canadaand around the world are helping to keep theplight of Iranian women and minoritiesalive.

The22-year-old Kurdish woman was arrestedby Iran's morality police in Tehran on Sept. 13, 2022, for allegedly wearingherhijab improperly. She fell into a coma after being taken to adetention centre and diedthree days later.

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Amini's death sparked massive protests in Iran demandingan end to theIslamic Republic's strict dress code. It spurred international demonstrationscalling for greater freedoms for women and minorities.And it is turning up in the works of musicians, storytellers, filmmakers and more who are using their mediums to keep the story alive.

"Witnessing how people in Iran stood up for their rights inspired me to bean activist and tell and share my personal stories as a filmmaker to the world,"saidAtefeh Khademolreza, anIranian Canadian filmmaker who now livesin Toronto.

"I wanted to be part of this movement ...amplifying the voice of women in Iran and also the LGBTQ+people."

I learned from the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' movement that achieving freedom comes with a price.- Atefeh Khademolreza, Canadian Iranian filmmaker

Khademolreza'sshort filmMeteor, which screenedat the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), explores the mysterious death of her gay best friend in Iran.

"It's about how difficult it is to be yourself in a country like Iran.And it's about sadnessbut at the same time hope," she said.

Khademolreza said there is a personal sacrifice to having made the film. Shecannot return to Iran out of fear of retaliation by the country's regime.

"I learned from the'Woman,Life,Freedom' movement thatachieving freedom comes with a price," she said.

'My voice is my weapon'

Iranian singer Faravaz Farvardinuses her music to advocate for women's rightsfrom afar.

Originally from Tehran, she came toGermanyfor a performance in2018 and now calls the country home as political refugee.

"I just cannot see the pain of other people and be silent," said Farvardin who faces a one-year sentence in Iran for her music. "My voice is my weapon and I'm using it."

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To mark the anniversary of Amini's death, the33-year-old singer has released a newsong titledEy Iran,whichgives a voiceto the oppressed in Iran andencouragesresistance, she said.

"My hope for my country is 'Woman, Life, Freedom.' I think that slogan has everything," she said. "Acountry where women are free and safe, life is going on and freedom is happening."

The price of protest

Artists and women in Iran have expressed dissent in various ways: singing in public, burning hijabs, cutting their hair and spraying resistance slogans in graffiti.

For some, those acts of defiance havecome at a hugecost.

Prominent Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, who heavily criticized the Islamic Republic through his lyrics,was convicted in July of "corruption on Earth," one of the country's most serious offences. He was spared the death sentence but still ordered tosix years in jail.

He is not alone.

Nearly 20,000 people have been arrested duringprotests, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran. The group, which closely tracksIran'scrackdown, states thatat least 527 people have also been killed in demonstrations.

Persis Karim, director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University, said artists are still taking great risks to defy Iran's regime to press forfreedom.

"It's not new to Iranians. They used art in the 1979 revolution. They used performance. They used music to rally people in the act of transforming their society," she said.

WATCH |Why art is instrumental in amplifying Iran's Woman, Life, Freedom movement:

Why art is instrumental in amplifying Iran's Woman, Life, Freedom movement

11 months ago

Duration 1:35

Persis Karim, director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University, says art creates opportunities for people outside of Iran to understand the stakes in the protest movement.

"Art, both in the visual sense, but also music ...and performance art as well have been essential in keeping the struggle going, but also creating opportunities for people outside of Iran to understand the stakes in this protest movement."

Karimbelieves artists have helped keep a necessary spotlight on developments in Iran as the gaze of the global mediahas faded.

"Murals appeared all over the country in the United States where people wanted to highlight the significance of the Woman Life Freedom movement as a woman-led revolutionary protest movement," she said.

"This is a moment where a global solidarity around the struggle for women's rights and human rights is absolutely essential."