World Refugee Day: meet the singer Mah Mooni

* In collaboration with Rodrigo Borges, MigraMundo.

Born in Tehran, the capital of Iran, Mah Mooni graduated in philosophy and, at 30, immigrated to Brazil with the dream of becoming a singer. Her home country has been ruled by the Ayatollahs’ Regime and the Morality Police for 45 years, where women are restricted from engaging in various activities, including singing alone in public. In Brazil, Mah Mooni has become a singer, model, and activist for women’s rights, participating in bands like Brisa do Oriente and Orquestra Mundana Refugi, a project that brings together migrants and refugees through music and dance.

On this World Refugee Day, we talked to the artist about music, women’s rights, and the differences between Brazil and Iran. Check it out:

Lupa do Bem: I was moved to watch you singing and somewhat curious to know what you sing about… 

I brought Persian poetry in my suitcase to sing in Brazil, which is a welcoming country with a generous nature that can embrace other cultures.

And why did you leave Iran? 

Where I was born, many jobs are prohibited for women and my dream was to be a singer. But women in Iran can’t sing alone in public or dance either. It’s forbidden! So, I decided to leave Iran to have basic rights, to have freedom, to breathe, to survive…

What is it like to be a singer in Iran and in Brazil? Are there many differences?

I love the racial and cultural diversity of Brazil and would like to share more of my music and culture. I came here precisely to try to fulfill my dream of being a singer. However, it took years to be able to work as a singer and model. It was only after living here for 5 years that I managed to join as a singer in the Orquestra Mundana Refugi in 2017.

You mentioned in an interview that you can’t return to Iran, since you would be arrested. Could you elaborate on that, please?

I am a singer and artist and, in Iran, singing in public is considered a crime for women. Dancing and choosing many jobs are also prohibited for women. The Hijab [one of the types of Islamic veil] is mandatory in all public places. And the world needs to know that there is gender apartheid in Iran. Being a singer and feeling the sun and wind in your hair should be basic rights for all women. In fact, women are considered worth half of men in Iran.

What is the situation of women in Iran today?

Women in Iran have been oppressed since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Women have half the rights of men due to laws imposed by the Islamic regime, which is truly a theocracy and not a republic! Women are denied basic rights, such as choosing their clothing from the age of 7. They cannot choose their dress or job. Without the mandatory veil, they cannot leave home, attend school or university to study, or even enter a hospital if needed!

I come from a country where women can’t have a passport without permission from their fathers or husbands. We women from Iran, and also from Afghanistan, are suffering from the same pain, true gender apartheid. This is not the culture of a country; it is oppression by the Islamic regime of Iran and the Taliban of Afghanistan.

How do you define the experience of being a woman, refugee and person with disabilities in Brazil? Based on this experience, what would you say to women who are fighting for their rights here in Brazil?

Being a woman in Iran, where I was born, is very difficult. But in Brazil, it is also very difficult for the acceptance of an independent artist from the Middle East. There is a lot of prejudice against women from the Middle East in Brazil due to lack of sufficient and updated information. Most people think these women are all Muslim, only speak Arabic and are under the command of men. Therefore, people are even afraid to communicate and work with women from the Middle East.

We are in June, a month in which various manifestations and events regarding refuge take place. What does this date represent to you?

Due to the pro-Western mindset prevailing in Brazil, unfortunately, the art of a woman from the Middle East is not considered serious. In fact, I dare say that after 12 years of living in Brazil and working as a singer and model, I am still not in a secure and stable job position, which is very sad after years of trying and having an acceptable resume.

Refuge in the world and in Brazil

Mah Mooni is one of the 143,033 people recognized as refugees in Brazil, according to data released last week by the federal government. If we also consider people in refugee situations whose applications have not yet been processed by authorities or who are in other vulnerable situations, this figure reaches 710,000 people.

Around the world, according to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, there are 120 million people in forced displacement, with 43 million considered actual refugees – meaning they had to seek protection in a country different from where they were born.

To follow the activism and performances of the artist, follow @mahmooni on Instagram.