Culture

Iranwire – Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, a prominent voice in Iran’s 2022 uprising, now faces a total of 10 charges, his lawyer says. In a January 21 a post on the social media platform X, lawyer Amir Raisian said that the Supreme Court had rejected five of the eight charges previously filed against Salehi. However, a court in Isfahan maintained …

iranintl – Dissident singer-songwriter Shervin Hajipour’s new song Ashghal (Trash) has broken the record on Instagram in the past year with 35 million plays in the first 24 hours. In 2022 Hajipour’s song “Baray-e Azadi” (For Freedom), which he composed by taking lines from protesters’ social media posts, turned into an anthem and unofficial manifesto of Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom protests …

iranintl – Here’s what we do and don’t know about Generation Z in Iran. We know that it has distanced itself from the anti-imperialist and Islamist ideas of the 1979 Revolution. However, we do not know what Generation exactly wants for its future and what are its objectives in life. While Gen. Z played a central role in the Mahsa …

iranintl – Authorities in Iran have resorted to marking the pre-Islamic Winter Solstice festival to placate the people angered by economic crisis and corruption scandals. Iranian media reported in November that the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution (SCCR) had renamed certain events on the official calendar including the pre-Islamic winter Festival of Yalda, which millions of Iranians celebrate on the …

RFL/RE – Filmmakers and movie festival organizers from around the world have called on Iranian authorities to drop all charges against two Iranian film directors and lift their travel ban. Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha had planned to travel to Paris in September for post-production on their new film, My Favorite Cake, but authorities confiscated their passports and informed them …

Iranwire – An Iranian court has ordered the execution of a suspended prison sentence handed to poet and civil activist Atefeh Chaharmahalian. Chaharmahalian, a former board member of the Iranian Writers’ Association, was arrested in Tehran on October 3 last year amid nationwide protests against the country’s clerical establishment. She was initially incarcerated in Tehran’s Evin prison and subsequently given …

Iranwire – The Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution has changed the name of two ancient Iranian festivals, Shab-e Yalda (Yalda Night), and Chaharshanbeh  Suri (Festival of Fire) in its calendar for the next Iranian year starting on March 20, 2024. What is the Islamic Republic government after? Is this part of an effort to destroy Iranian national symbols? Would it succeed …

iranintl – The chancellor of a university on Iran’s Kish Island has reportedly resigned following a graduation ceremony where female students appeared without head-coverings, defying hijab rules. Photos and videos published on social media showed the majority of girls at a small graduation ceremony on Kish Island’s international campus of Sharif University of Technology wearing graduation hats with their hair …

Al-Monitor — Last year’s deadly protests in Iran over the death in police custody of a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, have cast a pall over the country’s vibrant art scene, with many galleries in Tehran temporarily shuttered amid fears of drawing the ire of protestors and authorities alike. Even as they reopen, business remains shaky and gallerists continue to seek ways …

Iranwire – A dissident Iranian composer who has been jailed three times for his music has won the United Nations’ second annual International Art Contest for Minority Artists.  The honor was presented to Mehdi Rajabian in absentia on November 2 because he is unable to leave Iran. “This is an important award,” Rajabian said in a statement, adding, “Happiness is …