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An Iranian song that has transformed into the anthem of the protests in the country won a Grammy award Sunday night.
“Baraye” by Shervin Hajipour won Best Song for Social Change at the award ceremony in Los Angeles. This is the first year the Grammys has given out this award.
Background: Hajipour released the song last year in response to the protests that began in September after the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old was allegedly beaten to death by religious police over her hijab. Wearing the head covering is mandatory for Iranian women. The song’s lyrics address numerous grievances Iranians have with the Islamic Republic.
“For dancing in the streets. For being afraid of kissing. For my sister, your sister, our sisters,” sings Hajipour to start the song. Kissing in public is illegal in Iran.
The lyrics also reference poverty, “imprisoned intellectuals,” religious laws, the plight of Afghan refugees and more.
“Baraye” has received tens of millions of views on Instagram, YouTube and other streaming channels. Many Iranians cry when they hear it.
Hajipour was arrested in late September over the song and released on bail a few days later.
The first lady of the United States, Jill Biden, presented the award to Hajipour at the Grammy Awards, although Hajipour was not present. Biden called the song a “powerful and poetic call for women’s rights.”
First Lady Jill Biden appears at The Grammy Awards. pic.twitter.com/79r6SYC8kt
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) February 6, 2023
Reactions: Many Iranians rejoiced on social media after Hajipour won the Grammy. Activist Masih Alinejad described “Baraye” as “about the grievances of Iranians who long for a normal life.”
I screamed with delight after Baraye, the anthem of the Iranian uprising won the Grammy in the Best Song for Social Change category. Shervin Hajipour’s Baraye, is about the grievances of Iranians who long for a normal life. This is the soundtrack of revolution. #GRAMMYs https://t.co/AWyZaJs94E
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) February 6, 2023
Karim Sadjapour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, called it "the most viral song in the country’s [Iran's] history."
Congratulations to @HajipourShervin, perhaps the only Grammy winner in history who was imprisoned for his talent. ‘Baraye’ is both the anthem and the manifesto of Iran’s freedom movement, the most viral song in the country’s history. https://t.co/QJ6OUgBWaM
— Karim Sadjadpour (@ksadjadpour) February 6, 2023
Know more: Iranian authorities continue to respond forcefully to the protests and riots in the country. In late January, Iranian intelligence arrested four Sunni clerics in the Kurdistan and Sistan-Baluchistan provinces, Al-Monitor’s correspondent in Tehran reported. Some of the clerics criticized the government’s crackdown against protesters.
