Marjan, Iranian renowned singer became eternal
Ms. Shahal Safi Zamir, known professionally as Marjan, a renowned Iranian artist and singer, and a former political prisoner, also known as “the voice of Iranian Resistance for freedom”, passed away on Friday night due to heart failure after a surgical operation.
She was a popular actress and singer. She became a radio announcer as a teenager, then found her way to cinema, and finally to singing where she became a brilliant star. Like other female artists, due to the mullahs’ regime misogynist nature and rules, she was banned from singing after the 1979 anti-monarchic revolution.
Marjan was arrested in 1982 for supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and never stopped supporting the MEK until her very last days. She was impressed by the MEK’s supporters and members’ resistance, particularly the women in the regime’s dungeons.
In an interview she had said, “I feel humble when I recall the resistance and perseverance of prisoners I met in the clerical regime’s jails. Young women with the average age of 17 to 20. Of course, there were younger ones in other wards who were even younger, between 10 to 12.”
Mrs. Maryam Rajvi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in a message said: “I was deeply saddened by the untimely death of Iran’s popular artist, my dear Marjan. Preceding her was my dear Massoumeh Joshaghani who was also a political prisoner in the same years. During her years in exile, she joined the PMOI/MEK and the Iranian Resistance. For two decades, she was the inspiring voice of Iran’s oppressed women and girls. In the dark of the night, her voice gave glad tidings of looming dawn. She rose up against the status quo and attested to this truth that commitment to freedom is all of what every human being has. And in the era of darkness and repression, a popular artist must deliver on this great commitment. I have lost a very dear sister, but I am confident that her sisters in the PMOI/MEK, particularly those who were her cellmates, and the young rebellious women of Iran who will rise up for freedom, will fill her empty place.”
My dear #Marjan will always stay with us and will sing her songs of freedom, songs which will certainly be realized. #Iran #FreeIran pic.twitter.com/AaYu0wMpi7
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) June 6, 2020
“I extend my sincere condolences to her daughter, Poupak, to Mr. Jourak and their honorable family, to her artist colleagues, to all freedom-loving artists and the art community in Iran, and to the big family of the Iranian Resistance,” said Mrs. Rajavi.
“My dear Marjan will always stay with us and will sing her songs of freedom, songs which will certainly be realized.
Marjan’s songs, her choice, and her commitment to freedom and the people of Iran are inspiring to the young people of Iran and particularly to defiant young women. Her voice will resonate in tomorrow’s free Iran. Hail to Marjan; she became eternal,” she added.
