Diaspora Arts Connection Marks 10 Years of Let Her Sing® as Women’s Freedom to Sing Remains Under Threat

Anniversary concerts in San Francisco and San Diego bring together six women vocalists, an international ensemble, and a film program.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Diaspora Arts Connection is preparing to celebrate the 10th year of Let Her Sing^®: A Celebration of Female Voices, with anniversary concerts in San Francisco and San Diego and a special film program exploring women, music, censorship, and the fundamental right to be heard.

This year’s anniversary arrives at a particularly urgent moment. In late September, an appeals court in Iran upheld the sentence against Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi, rejecting her appeal over a December 2024 online concert in which she sang solo without the mandatory hijab. Ahmadi was sentenced to 74 lashes, a two-year travel ban, and a two-year ban on artistic and audiovisual activity.

The ruling is a stark reminder that the issues at the heart of Let Her Sing^® remain very much alive.
“Ten years ago, Let Her Sing was created from a very simple belief: a woman should have the right to sing,” said Nazy Kaviani, Founder and Executive Director of Diaspora Arts Connection. “A decade later, we are preparing to fill stages with women’s voices while a singer in Iran faces lashes for using hers and hundreds of female vocalists are not allowed to sing in Afghanistan. That contrast is painful, but it also reminds us exactly why this work continues to matter.”

The anniversary concert returns to San Francisco on Saturday, October 17 at 7:00 PM at the Blue Shield of California Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. One week later, Let Her Sing^® will be presented in San Diego for the first time, on Saturday, October 24 at 7:00 PM at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, in collaboration with the Persian Cultural Center of San Diego.
The 2026 featured vocalists are Mina Deris, Mehrnam Rastegari, Marjan Farsad, Gelareh Sheibani, Eilbret Dooman, and Roxana Sarrafi.

Their music spans Persian classical and folk traditions, Arab-Iranian and Assyrian musical heritage, contemporary songwriting, and diasporic artistic expression. The diversity of the lineup reflects a central idea behind Let Her Sing^®: there is no single “female voice.” Women carry different languages, histories, traditions, and experiences, and each deserves the freedom to be heard on her own terms.
That message carries particular weight this year. At the same moment these six women prepare to take the stage freely in California, another woman artist in Iran has seen a punishment of 74 lashes upheld for an act of musical expression.

The concerts will be hosted by Golrokh Aminian, an Iranian-Canadian soprano, singer-songwriter, former Let Her Sing^® performer, and longtime member of the program’s artistic community.
The production is led by Yahya Alkhansa, Music Director and drummer, with Navid Ghaem Maghami as Artistic Director and Shayan Ravandoust as Director of Operations.
The Let Her Sing^® House Band features Safa Shokrai on upright bass, Yahya Alkhansa on drums, Mohammad Shabani on percussion, Sara Saberi on oud, Nima Hafezieh on piano, Mohamad Talani on guitar, and Shervin Najafian on guitar.

Beyond the concert stage, the anniversary program begins in San Francisco on Sunday, October 11 at YBCA with a film program examining women’s voices, censorship, self-determination, and artistic freedom.
Presented by Diaspora Arts Connection and Farcinema, the program features No Land’s Song, directed by Ayat Najafi; A Sister’s Tale, directed by Leila Amini; and Sonita, directed by Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami.
No Land’s Song follows Iranian composer Sara Najafi as she attempts to organize a public concert in Tehran featuring women singing solo. A Sister’s Tale follows Nasreen as she tries to reclaim her dream of becoming a singer while navigating family life and restrictions on women performing publicly in Iran. Sonita follows a young Afghan refugee in Tehran who dreams of becoming a rapper while confronting forced marriage and restrictions on artistic expression.

The screening of Sonita will be followed by a special Q&A and panel discussion with Yara Daneshvar and Gelareh Sheibani, connecting the film to lived experiences of censorship, resilience, and women’s right to sing.
The film program is presented in partnership with Farcinema, the Bay Area independent film-curation initiative run by Hanieh Khaleghian and Mohsen Hejrati.

For ten years, Let Her Sing^® has brought women vocalists from around the world onto professional stages in celebration of artistic freedom, cultural memory, resilience, and the transformative power of song. The program was created around a reality that persists today: in parts of the world, women continue to face censorship, legal restrictions, social pressure, and punishment simply for singing publicly.
The case of Parastoo Ahmadi gives the 10th anniversary a sobering immediacy. Her December 2024 performance took place without a live audience and was distributed online. Nevertheless, she was prosecuted, and an Iranian appeals court has now upheld the conviction and punishment.

“Let Her Sing is not about speaking for women,” Kaviani said. “It is about making space for women to speak—and sing—for themselves. Our responsibility is to keep that space open, to listen, and to make sure these voices are not pushed to the margins.”
As Let Her Sing^® enters its second decade, Diaspora Arts Connection sees the program as both a celebration of extraordinary musicianship and an affirmation of a fundamental principle: the freedom to create, perform, and be heard belongs to everyone.

LET HER SING^® 2026 — SAN FRANCISCO
Saturday, October 17, 2026 | 7:00 PM
Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA
Information and tickets: diasporaartsconnection.org/events/lethersing2026

LET HER SING^® 2026 — SAN DIEGO
Saturday, October 24, 2026 | 7:00 PM
California Center for the Arts, Escondido
Presented in collaboration with the Persian Cultural Center of San Diego
Information and tickets: diasporaartsconnection.org/events/lethersing2026sd

LET HER SING^® FILM SCREENINGS — SAN FRANCISCO
Sunday, October 11, 2026
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
Featuring No Land’s Song, A Sister’s Tale, and Sonita
Information and tickets: diasporaartsconnection.org/events/lethersing2026-screenings

ABOUT DIASPORA ARTS CONNECTION
Diaspora Arts Connection is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to supporting artists from diasporic, immigrant, and underrepresented communities. Through music, film, storytelling, visual arts, and multidisciplinary programming, DAC creates platforms for artistic freedom, cultural exchange, and meaningful connections between artists and audiences.

Shayan Ravandoust
Diaspora Arts Connection
+1 925-318-2017
email us here

Excerpts from Let Her Sing 2025