November 01-2013
Culture Minister Ali Jannati says he welcomes a public debate over whether women should be permitted to sing solo in public.
Jannati said he sees nothing wrong with people expressing opinions about solo female singers in Iranian music.
The Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reports that Jannati said: “Every person is free to express their own opinion in this regard, but there is not even consensus among senior religious leaders.”
Jannati added: “Some religious authorities have said that so long as solo singing by women does not lead to corruption, it is permitted.”
The culture minister’s statements came after a top music master, Daryush Pirniyakan, called for women to have the freedom to sing solo and challenged those religious leaders who have labeled such music forbidden.
“One of the chief demands of the House of Music is the broadcasting of women’s voices,” Pirniyakan said; “Half of our musicians are women but they are not allowed to sing.”
The statements have triggered loud criticism from conservative members of the establishment, and the controversy led to Pirniyakan’s resignation from the House of Music’s administration.
Women are allowed to sing in public in choruses, but they have been banned from singing solo since the revolution.
