Payam Javan: Taylor Hanson, one-third of the pop band Hanson, helped organize an effort to gather thousands of singers to record a song to support the women of Iran.
The effort is called “The Voices Project” and is sponsored by the nonprofit organization “For Women Life Freedom.”
Over 16,000 singers, including Ben Folds, Rufus Wainwright, and other notable names, as well as normal people from different walks of life, participated in the recording.
Each individual singer represents “a peaceful political prisoner currently jailed in Iran.”
The song is being released to remember the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died while in Iranian police custody for the crime of wearing her hijab too loosely.
Hanson said he hopes the song will “bring the hearts and minds of people who don’t see themselves as a part of that cause, and that movement, to the conversation” and “raise awareness of the injustices going on against the people of Iran.”
He also said he wants the song to send a message that “you have a voice that can elevate the voices of those who have been silenced through what’s going on in [Iran].”
The song is titled “Baraye – For Women Life Freedom” and is a cover of an Iranian protest song by Shervin Hajipour. It is available to stream on all major platforms.