Abstract: We examined the Islamic Republic of Iran’s prohibition on women’s solo singing as a form of structural violence with pedagogical, cultural, and political consequences. We traced how post-1979 regulatory practices have dismantled a previously pluralistic soundscape in which women’s voices were central to Iranian musical life and documented the institutional mechanisms through which vocal restriction operates. Drawing on historical analysis, philosophy of voice, theories of publicness, and critical sound studies, we argued that the regulation of women’s singing in Iran determines who can appear as an audible subject in public space. We showed that the ban disrupts vocal development and music pedagogy, severs intergenerational transmission of repertoire and technique, and contributes to cultural amnesia regarding women’s prior musical presence. We further evaluated these practices in relation to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s obligations under international human-rights instruments, including emerging discussions of gender apartheid. We concluded that the Islamic Republic’s prohibition on women’s public solo singing constitutes not only censorship, but a systematic reordering of the conditions under which women can participate in cultural life, exercise musical agency, and be recognized within music education.
Niknampour et al. (Thu,) studied this question.