By: Sona Samsami
The Huffington Post, 22 October 2010 – – The Iranian people last week lost an icon of Persian art and culture, a fierce defender of human rights, and a formidable opponent of the misogynist regime in Tehran. Ashraf os-Sadat Mortezai, known as Marzieh, passed away on October 13, 2010 at the age of 86.
Her distinguished career had produced a repertoire of over 1,000 songs and concerts around Iran and the world. In her signature songs, the melodic sounds of Persian instruments mixed with vivid lyrics about freedom, peace and humanity gave the raw material. Then, Marzieh’s mesmerizing voice, delivered with tempered pride, unbridled passion, and a contagious sense of purpose, breathed new life into the suppressed sentiments and aspirations of a nation.
Marzieh was not only a pioneering singer but an enlightened woman who broke cultural barriers and defied fundamentalist stereotypes to rise to prominence starting in the 1940s. Later in life, she fought for greater rights for Iranian women when she joined the Iranian Resistance.
She was a flag bearer, following in the footsteps of women like Ghodrat-ol-Ein whose heroism against the Qhajar Dynesty (mid 1850’s) earned her a special place in the Iranian hearts and minds.
Her works have for decades resonated with all Iranians, particularly women. Marzieh was the first woman singer to take part in Tehran’s most celebrated radio program of the time, The Colorful Flowers, and was regularly asked to perform with some of the masters of Persian music.
Yet she was not obsessed with personal fame or with accolades and honors, instead using her platform to inspire and promote values and traditions consistent with the indelible rights of all humanity. Indeed, her reverence for Islam and disdain for religious bigots ruling Iran is best symbolized in a masterful recording of the Azan, the Muslim call to prayer featuring her voice. She is the only Iranian woman known to have successfully done so.
The extremist government of Iran, which hijacked power in 1979, banned Marzieh from performing in public. She defied the mullahs and bid goodbye to the country she loved in 1994.
In Paris, she joined the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a broad democratic coalition of Iranian dissidents working to overthrow the religious tyrants, which was created in 1981 in Tehran and acts as parliament-in-exile. For years and until her passing, she was an arts adviser to NCRI President-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi. Her successful and enduring career is a testament to her many talents, but also the product of a century of inspiration and resistance.
She was particularly impressed with the prominent role women played in the main NCRI organization member, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Seeing the MEK’s dedication to democracy and women rights encouraged her in the late 1990s to visit Iraq to meet thousands of MEK members — including 1000 women — living in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. She returned to France just before the war broke out in 2003.
The New York Times described her ’the great diva of Persian traditional song,’ and the ’voice of dissent.’ The Iranian people have indeed lost a great icon and a caring advocate for democracy. But Marzieh will forever remain in their hearts as an inspirational idol.
Marzieh, the Late Diva of Persian Music Lives in the Hearts of Women
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