Being that I’m on both feminist and Middle Eastern threads on social media, I immediately heard about the brutal murder of the young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini. As the daughter of an Iraqi Jewish refugee, whose family survived mob violence and attempted genocide of the Jewish community in Baghdad, and as the granddaughter and niece of Jewish women who wore the abaya, the Iraqi equivalent of the hijab – because women of all religions were subject to Muslim dress codes throughout the Middle East and North Africa – the incident felt deeply personal to me.
My New Song, “Mahsa Amini”
I wrote the words to a song about Mahsa Amini a few days after her murder. A few weeks ago, I put the words to music. I have since launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $1000 to profesionally record and produce the song with my full band, Iraqis in Pajamas – to add my voice to the global outrage and call for an end to Iran’s brutal regime. As a thank-you gift to you for donating, you’ll get an email with a code for 20% off all digital products on the KHAZZOOM shop – including online events, albums, books, and videos. And this discount will be on top of special promotions and patron discounts.
The Back Story
In case you haven’t heard, Iranian “morality police” grabbed Amini when she was visiting relatives in Tehran. They beat her to death, because they did not like the way her hijab was positioned on her head. The event sparked a massive protest, with scores women throughout Iran burning their hijabs and, beautifully, scores of men supporting them. Since the uprising began in September, hundreds of protestors have been arrested, tortured, and murdered. If you’re as outraged as I am, please help me take action through music, by donating to my GoFundMe campaign, MahsaAminiSong.