Released on September 28, 2022, in the wake of Zhina #MahsaAmini’s murder and the start of #IranProtest, 25-year-old Iranian musician Shervin Hajipour’s “Baraye” video amassed over 40-million views in just 48 hours.
Shervin’s powerful “Baraye” (meaning “For” in Farsi,) is composed of tweets of the reasons why Iranians were joining the protests including “women’s, childrens and refugees rights; protesting theocracy and outdated social norms; advocating against political corruption and for freedom of speech.”
The viral song lead to Hajipour’s arrest. A global outrage over his arrest led to his release but culminated in the removal of his video and a forced apology. Shervin has been silenced ever since and barred from leaving the country but the song remains as a reminder of what he stood for and for the protests were for.
“Baraye” has played a historic role as a global anthem for the #womanlifefreedom movement, becoming the single most covered protest song in Iran’s history. Coldplay too performed the song at their concert.
It has been 141-days since the protests began and at least 527-innocent protesters have been killed by IR forces with 70 of those being children. 4 protesters have been executed. Around 19,623 protesters remain in prison, with dozens at risk of execution including the rappers #ToomajSalehi and #SamanYasin.
