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Baraye

"Baraye" (Persian: برای, lit. "For...") is a 2022 power ballad by Iranian singer-songwriter Shervin Hajipour, inspired by the death of Mahsa Amini and its aftermath.[1] Widely referred to as "the anthem" of the protests, "Baraye" received critical acclaim for its vocals and portrayal of the emotions of the Iranian people and diaspora. At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2023, the song won the first-ever special merit award for Best Song for Social Change.

"Baraye"

Persian

September 28, 2022 (2022-09-28)

Ballad[1]

2:30

Shervin Hajipour

Shervin Hajipour

Production[edit]

Background[edit]

The song was inspired by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who was arrested for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly and whose death in police custody was alleged to have been caused by severe beating by religious morality police officers.[2] Amini's death sparked massive global protests and became a symbol for freedom in Iran.[3] The slogan "Woman, Life, Freedom", which was used in the song's lyrics, became a rallying cry during the protests.[4]

Release and Hajipour's arrest[edit]

The song was released on September 28, 2022 on Hajipour's Instagram account. It was taken down from the platform less than 48 hours later, following Hajipour's arrest by the authorities on September 29.[5] It received about 40 million views during that time.


Hajipour was forced to remove the song from his social media platforms by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's security agents shortly after his arrest. The arrest sparked reactions internationally.


On October 4, 2022, Hajipour was released on bail "so that his case can go through the legal process," according to Mohammad Karimi, prosecutor of the northern province of Mazandaran.[6]

Critical reception[edit]

Grammy Award win[edit]

On October 10, 2022, Variety reported that the protest song received nearly 100,000 submissions for a new category at the coming Grammy Awards.[7]

During the November 8, 2022 debate in the , MP Rushanara Ali quoted the verse "for my sister, your sister, our sisters" to highlight the importance of the women's right in the protests, to ask Under-Secretary David Rutley whether the UK Government would support expelling of Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. In response, Rutley called the points of the question the "grassroots nature" of the uprising and reassured that, while the UK is "taking strong action against the Iranians," these points will be raised with Lord Ahmad, the Minister for the Middle East.[12]

UK Parliament

At the October 5, 2022 debate held by France's for the "attacks on the women's rights and the human rights in Iran," Senator Mélanie Vogel ended her speech by playing Baraye.[13] Nathalie Goulet, another member of the Senate also used the song in her solidarity video with the uprising.

Senate

To give "voice to brave Iranians," Senator read an English translation of the song at the Senate of Canada on November 3, 2022. She opened her statement by saying:[14]

Ratna Omidvar

An article published by the on October 12, 2022, explored how the song "became an anthem for the women, freedom and an ordinary life". In it, Nahid Siamdoust of University of Texas and the author of Soundtrack of the Revolution: The Politics of Music in Iran compares the use of songs in past protests with that of Baraye in the uprising it was written in, and states that "no other uprising has had such a singular anthem" and that it is a song vocalized by one musician, but "written by people at large".[30] She also writes in her article for Foreign Policy:[11]

Los Angeles Times

O Iran!

Woman's Anthem

Human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Iran student protests, July 1999

2009 Iranian university dormitory raids

2009 Iranian presidential election protests

2017–18 Iranian protests

Bloody November